Event Notification and Messaging System

This application is a non-provisional application of, claims benefit of, and priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to, co-pending and commonly owned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/421,786, filed on Nov. 2, 2022, titled “Event Notification and Messaging System,” which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for communicating an event notification and, in particular, to systems and methods for communicating a notification including an updated status of an event and activating an automated response to such notification.

This description of related art is provided to generally present a context of the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated, the information described in this section is not prior art to the claimed invention of this patent document and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion therein.

Generally speaking, it is desirable for event organizers, local government officials, administrators of schools or universities, managers for television, film, and/or stage productions, administrators or staff of travel and/or transportation service providers, and the like, to notify one or more attendees, participants, and others of a change in status such as, for example, a delay, closure, or cancellation of an event, or early or late dismissal from the event. The timelier the notification of such a change in status, the timelier a response can be taken to the change. In some circumstances, the attendee or others may revise or otherwise adjust their schedules in response to the notification. For example, if the event includes a starting time that is early in a morning and the event's start time is delayed or the event is cancelled, the attendee or others may wish to remain asleep or at least sleep longer than otherwise would be appropriate to attend the event at the original start time.

It is known to broadcast a notification that an event such as, for example, a school day, is delayed or cancelled due to, for example, inclement weather or the like. Such broadcasted notifications may include, for example, announcements on public television, public radio, and more recently, postings on social media sites accessible by attendees and others as well as electronic mail messages, telephone calls, and/or text messages automatically sent to certain stationary and/or portable communication and/or computing devices such as, for example, workstations, laptops, tablet computers, cellular radiotelephones, smartphones, and the like, operated by the one or more attendees and others. While receipt of the broadcasted notifications may allow action by the attendees, participants, or others, there is a need for a solution that provides for an automated response that may allow the attendees or others to better adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification.

Accordingly, the inventors have discovered that there is a need for systems and methods that receive broadcast notifications including a change in status of an event such as, for example, a delay, a closure, a cancellation, or change in formation of the event, or early or delayed dismissal from the event, and that automatically and selectively respond to allow attendees or others planning to attend or participate in the event to adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification.

The present disclosure is directed to a system and a method for receiving and responding to a change of status message for an event over a communication network. In one aspect of the disclosure, the system includes a server including a server processor and a server memory operatively coupled to the server processor. The server memory stores server instructions executable by the server processor. The system further includes one or more user devices, operable by one or more users of the system. Each of the one or more user devices includes a user device processor and a user device memory operatively coupled to the user device processor. The one or more user devices communicate with the server over a communication network. Each of the user device memory store user device instructions executable by the user device processor. When an event status message including a change in a status of an event is received by the server, the server processor executes the server instructions such that the server is configured to extract from the received event status message one or more event facilities conducting at least one event impacted by the event status message. The server processor further executes to determine whether the received event status message is generated by one or more sources authorized to change the status of events conducted at a corresponding one of the one or more event facilities. When the received event status message is generated from an authorized source, the server processor further identifies the one or more users associated with at least one event facility impacted by the received event status message, generates one or more notification messages including the change in the status of the event, and sends the generated one or more notification messages to the one or more user devices of the identified one or more users. When a notification message is received by a user device of the identified one or more users, the user device processor executes the user device instructions such that the user device is configured to extract from the received notification message the change in the status of the event. The user device processor further executes to determine a type of the change in the status of the event from a plurality of types of changes in the status of events and to compare the determined type of the change in the status to one or more automated responses enabled on the user device for the plurality of types of changes in the status of events. When an automated response is enable for the determined type of the change in the status, the user device processor further executes to activate the automated response by the user device to the received notification message.

In one embodiment, the one or more automated responses activated on the user device include at least one of cancelling an alarm signal set for activation on the user device at a first predetermined time, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a first delay period set by an event facility associated with the user of the user device, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a second delay period set by the user of the user device, and cancelling the alarm signal previously set for activation on the user device at the first predetermined time and setting the alarm signal for activation on the user device at a second predetermined time. In one embodiment, when no automated response is enabled on the user device, exhibiting on the user device, in response to the received notification message, an alert message that no automated response is enabled. In one embodiment, the alarm signal activated on the user device includes at least one of an audio notification message and a visual notification message. In one embodiment, the visual notification message includes a snooze option to instruct the user device to re-activate the alarm signal after expiration of a delay period of, for example, about nine seconds.

In another embodiment, the system further includes one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices operatively coupled to at least one of the server and one of the one or more user devices. Each of the IoT devices includes an IoT device processor and an IoT device memory operatively coupled to the IoT device processor. The IoT device memory stores IoT device instructions executable by the IoT processor. In one embodiment, the notification message further includes control signals provided to the one or more IoT devices by one of the server and one of the user devices. The control signals instruct the one or more IoT devices to activate one or more automated responses on the IoT device for the plurality of types of changes in the status of events. In one embodiment, the one or more automated responses activated on the IoT devices include at least one of cancelling an alarm signal set for activation on the one or more IoT devices at a first predetermined time, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a first delay period set by an event facility associated with the user of the user device coupled to the one or more IoT devices, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a second delay period set by the user of the user device coupled to the one or more IoT devices, and cancelling the alarm signal previously set for activation on the one or more IoT devices at the first predetermined time and setting the alarm signal for activation on the one or more IoT devices at a second predetermined time.

In one embodiment, the server processor at least one of receives the event status messages from and retrieves the event status messages from a third party source. In one embodiment, the third party source includes at least one of event organizers, local government officials, administrators of schools or universities, managers for television, film, or stage productions, administrators or staff of travel or transportation service providers. In one embodiment, the users of the system include one or more attendees and others planning to attend or participate in the event, persons picking up the attendees and others after an end of the event, administrators of event facilities, and system administrators. In one embodiment, the users further include two or more subsets of the attendees and others planning to attend or participate in the event, the persons picking up the attendees and others, and the administrators of event facilities registered with the system as one or more user groups associated with one or more of the event facilities. In one embodiment, the event includes at least one of a school day, a meeting, a conference, an audition, a rehearsal, a show or performance, and a schedule for travel. In another embodiment, the event facilities of the system include at least one of a school, a school district, an educational institute, a user group, and a venue for an event. In one embodiment, the change of status within the notification message includes at least one of a delay, a closure, a cancellation, an early dismissal, a late dismissal, and an alternative format for conducting the event.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a method for responding to a change of status message for an event received over a communication network is provided. The method includes receiving, at a first processing device, an event status message including a change in a status of an event. In response to the received event status message, the method includes the first processing device further operating to extract, from the received event status message, one or more event facilities conducting at least one event impacted by the event status message. The first processing device further operates to determine whether the received event status message is generated by one or more sources authorized to change the status of events conducted at a corresponding one of the one or more event facilities. When the received event status message is generated from an authorized source, the first processing device operates to identify the one or more users associated with at least one event facility impacted by the received event status message, generate one or more notification messages including the change in the status of the event, and send the generated one or more notification messages to the one or more second processing devices of the identified one or more users. The method further includes receiving, by the one or more second processing devices, one of the one or more notification messages. In response to the received notification message, the second processing device further operates to extract from the received notification message the change in the status of the event and to determine a type of the change in the status of the event from a plurality of types of changes in the status of events. The second processing device further operates to compare the determined type of the change in the status to one or more automated responses enabled on the user device for the plurality of types of changes in the status of events. When an automated response is enable for the determined type of the change in the status, the second processing devices further operates to activate the automated response to the received notification message.

In one embodiment, the one or more automated responses activated on the second processing device include at least one of cancelling an alarm signal set for activation on the second processing device at a first predetermined time, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a first delay period set by an event facility associated with the user of the second processing device, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a second delay period set by the user of the second processing device, and cancelling the alarm signal previously set for activation on the second processing device at the first predetermined time and setting the alarm signal for activation on the second processing device at a second predetermined time. In one embodiment, when no automated response is enabled on the second processing device, the method includes exhibiting on the second processing device, in response to the received notification message, an alert message that no automated response is enabled.

In another embodiment, the method further includes providing one or more Internet of Things (IoT) devices operatively coupled to at least one of the first processing device and one of the second processing devices. In one embodiment, the notification message further includes control signals provided to the one or more IoT devices by the at least one of the first processing device and one of the second processing devices. The control signals instruct the one or more IoT devices to activate one or more automated responses on the one or more IoT devices for the plurality of types of changes in the status of events. In one embodiment, the one or more automated responses activated on the one or more IoT devices include at least one of cancelling an alarm signal set for activation on the one or more IoT devices at a first predetermined time, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a first delay period set by an event facility associated with the user of the user device coupled to the one or more IoT devices, updating the first predetermined time set for activating the alarm signal by a second delay period set by the user of the user device coupled to the one or more IoT devices, and cancelling the alarm signal previously set for activation on the one or more IoT devices at the first predetermined time and setting the alarm signal for activation on the one or more IoT devices at a second predetermined time.

In these figures, like structures are assigned like reference numerals but may not be referenced in the description of all figures.

The present disclosure describes novel and non-obvious systems and methods that receive event status messages each including a change in status of an event such as, for example, a school day, a meeting, a conference, an audition, rehearsal, show or performance, a schedule for travel, or the like (referred to hereinafter collectively as the event) held or conducted at a venue or location (hereinafter referred to as an event facility, described more fully below). In one embodiment, the event status message includes a change such as, for example, a delay, a closure or a cancellation of the event, an early dismissal from the event, a late dismissal from the event (e.g., a holdover of the event due to, for example, an emergency situation such as, for example, a lockdown or “shelter in place” order for the event facility preventing timely dismissal), or an alternative format for conducting the event. The systems and methods, as described herein, generate one or more notification messages in response to receipt of the event status messages that enable one or more attendees and/or others planning to attend or participate in the event, or pick up a participant after an end of the event to, automatically and selectively, adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification messages. While described within the context of a school delay, closure, early or late dismissal notification system, it should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention is not limited to only this implementation. For example, it should be appreciated that the systems and methods described herein may be applied more generally to any event notification system wherein event organizers, local government officials, administrators of schools, universities, or other educational institutions, managers for television, film, and/or stage productions, administrators or staff of travel and/or transportation service providers, and the like, may wish to notify one or more attendees and others of a change in status such as, for example, a delay, closure, or cancellation of, or earlier or late/delayed dismissal from the event, or alternative format for the event, an emergency situation within a predetermined proximity to the event and/or its participants, or a scheduled arrival or departure time for a transportation vehicle, and allow a response thereto, for example, to allow an automatic and selective response so the one or more attendees, participants, or others planning to attend, participate in, or pick up a participant from the event may adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification.

100 In one embodiment, the systems and methods described herein may generate one or more notification messages in response to receipt of an event status message to provide notification to two or more subsets of attendees and others at the event. For example, a first group or subset of attendees and others may include, e.g., staff or teachers, working at the event that are instructed to report to the event at a first time and a second group or subset of attendees and others may include persons participating in the event, e.g., as students that are instructed to report to the event at a second time, which is later in a day than the first time. In one embodiment, described herein, an event facility may be defined (e.g., registered within the system) to include the two or more subsets of attendees and others at the event. For example, in an exemplary use of the systems and methods described herein in a film or stage production environment, an event facility may be defined for all persons involved or associated with the production together, or two or more groups of the persons may be defined within the production such that, for example, principle or lead role performers are defined as a first group of users within the production event facility or as a first performer event facility, ensemble performers are defined as a second group of users within the production event facility or as a second performer event facility, and performers cast as extras are defined as a third group of users within the production event facility or as a third performer event facility. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the term “event facility” should be broadly interpreted as both a physical location as well as a group of two or more attendees, others, or administrators associated with an event (e.g., user groups).

With respect to an alternative format for the event, in one embodiment the present invention addresses a change where, for example, an in-person learning/class session in which students physically go to a classroom at a school or other educational or event facility to attend the learning/class session may be changed to a remote learning/class session in which students are at-home or otherwise away from the event facility, and attend the learning/class session provided via virtual instruction. In this manner, the present disclosure is seen to support decision making where administrators of one or more schools or educational or event facilities decide that rather than losing a day of instruction for inclement weather or the like, the schools or other educational or event facilities revise their format for the learning/class sessions to be conducted via “remote learning” sessions. In one embodiment, a remote learning day(s) can start at the same time as an in-person learning day(s), or the remote day(s) may be delayed to allow students, teachers, and others to address any technology issues to ensure complete, or at least substantially complete attendance of as many participants as possible.

100 100 10 120 120 120 120 182 180 180 100 170 120 180 122 124 120 130 140 126 1 FIG. 1 FIG. In various embodiments of an event notification and messaging system, illustrated inand referred to as a School DelayZz™ system and application according to one embodiment. SCHOOL DELAYZZ is a trademark of Kohi, LLC of Wethersfield, Connecticut USA. Within the School DelayZz™ event notification and messaging systemone or more attendees and others, referred to hereinafter as users and shown generally at, operate a plurality of stationary and/or portable communication and/or computing devices (exemplary devices described below) referred to hereinafter as client/user devices shown generally at. The plurality of client/user devices, including client/user devicesA toM, are each capable of receiving, processing, and displaying input and output such as the aforementioned event status messages, notification messages, system preferences, and the like, and of transmitting the notification messages and other messages or control signals over wired or wireless communication connectionsvia a networksuch as, for example, a local area network (LAN), an intranet, extranet, the Internet, or other distributed communication network, to other devices (described below) operatively coupled to the communication network. The notification messages, system preference messages, and other messages or control signals distributed within the systemare illustrated ingenerally at. In one embodiment, each of the client/user devicesincludes or is operatively coupled via the networkto one or more processors (CPU), memory (e.g., internal memory (MEM)including hard drives, ROM, RAM, and the like), and/or data storage (e.g., hard drives, optical storage devices, and the like) as is known in the art. In one embodiment, each of the client/user devicesincludes or is operatively coupled to one or more input devicesand one or more output devices, shown generally at, via an input/output controller (IO CNTL).

130 120 140 142 120 144 100 1000 10 120 In one embodiment, the input devicesinclude, for example, a keyboard, mouse, stylus, or like pointing device, buttons, wheels, touch pad, or touch screen portions of a display device, or input ports, and/or combinations thereof, for receiving and providing data and information to the client/user device. In one embodiment, the output devicesinclude, for example, one or more display devicesintegral with or operatively coupled to the client/user deviceto exhibit visual output, a speakerto provide audio output, and/or a printer (not shown) to provide printed output. In one embodiment, the visual and printed output includes documents, images, and other visual representations of the data and information within the system. In one embodiment, the output devices exhibit one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs, e.g., GUI 1 to GUI Z), shown generally at, that may be visually perceived by a user/operatoroperating one of the client/user devices. In one embodiment, the audio output and optionally, the visual output, may include an alarm and/or other signal or message set in advance to alert a user of the pre-set time to perform an action, e.g., wake up to attend an event, to leave to pick up someone at the event, and the like. In one embodiment, the alarm signal activated on the user device includes at least one of an audio notification message (e.g., an audio alarm tone) and a visual notification message (e.g., a text message). In one embodiment, the visual notification message enables a “snooze” option to instruct the user device to re-activate the alarm signal after expiration of a delay period of, for example, about nine seconds.

1 FIG. 120 120 120 It should also be appreciated that for clarity purposes, components (e.g., CPU. MEM, IO CNTL, input and output devices and the like) are depicted inonly with reference to User Device 1A but equally may correspond to one or more of the other client/user devices(User Device 2 to User Device M). In one embodiment, the client/user devicesinclude, for example, a personal computer or workstation, or portable computer processing devices such as, for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), iPAD™ device, tablet, laptop, mobile radio telephone, smartphone (e.g., Apple™ iPhone™ device, Google™ Android™ device, etc.), or the like. It should be appreciated that the designations Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc. of Cupertino, California. It should also be appreciated that the designations Google and Android are trademarks of Google LLC of Mountain View, California.

100 120 180 150 150 152 154 156 155 160 155 3000 14 150 120 150 128 158 120 150 182 180 192 196 180 150 157 170 100 180 180 180 159 1 FIG. In one embodiment, the event notification and messaging systemand each of the client/user devicesmay be operatively coupled to and in communication with, via the network, a server. In one embodiment, the serverincludes one or more processors (CPU), memory (e.g., internal memory (MEM)including hard drives, ROM, RAM, and the like), an input/output controller (IO CNTL)for receiving and outputting data and information via input devices (not shown) and output devices including a display devicecoupled thereto, and/or one or more data storage devices(e.g., hard drives, optical storage devices, and the like) as is known in the art. In one embodiment, the display deviceexhibits one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs, e.g., GUI 1 to GUI M), shown generally at, that may be visually perceived by one or more system administratorsoperating the server. In one embodiment, illustrated in, each of the client/user devicesand the serverinclude communication circuitry (COMMS)and, respectively, such as a transceiver or network interface card (NIC), for operatively coupling the client/user devicesand the serverby the wired or wireless communication connectionsto the network, and in some embodiments to a plurality of processing devicesincluding, for example, processing devices 1 to X and/or a plurality of data storage devices, for example, data stores 1 to Y, also operatively coupled to and communicating with the network. In one embodiment, the serverincludes a “push” or “server push” notification gatewayemployed to disseminate the notification messagesthroughout the systemas described herein. It should be appreciated that, while not shown, the networkmay include, for example, cell towers, routers, repeaters, ports, switches, and/or other network components that comprise the Internet and/or a cellular telephone network and/or Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), as is known in the art. It should also be appreciated that the networkmay include or utilize, for example, components and/or resources in a “cloud” or virtual environment. It should also be appreciated that communication and transfer of data between devices coupled to the networkmay occur through protocols operating at various Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model layers including, for example, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) on the Transport and Internet layers and/or the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and interfaces such as, for example, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) including REST APIs(APIs that conform to the design principles of the representational state transfer (REST) architecture), as are known in the art.

100 150 180 170 120 180 110 180 150 120 170 110 110 110 150 170 157 120 170 172 110 170 172 110 170 150 120 112 110 120 110 110 110 170 100 1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1 FIG. In one embodiment of the notification and messaging system, the serveris connected to the communication networkand communicates with (e.g., distributes the messages) to the user devicesconnected with the networkand a plurality of relatively low-power, low-bandwidth, and/or low-processing power devices(e.g., so called “smart” or Internet of Things (IoT) devices) that are operatively coupled to the communication networkand may communicate with the serverdirectly, or through one or more of the user devices, to receive the notification messagesto, for example, adjust or reset an audio and/or visual alarm or alert message enabled on the IoT device. In one embodiment, the alarm signal activated on the IoT deviceincludes at least one of an audio notification message and a visual notification message. In one embodiment, the visual notification message includes a “snooze” option to instruct the IoT deviceto re-activate the alarm signal after expiration of a delay period of, for example, about nine seconds. In one embodiment, the servermay disseminate the notification messagesvia the push notification gatewayto the user devices(e.g., as notification messagesA passed in a direction indicated by arrowA) and to the IoT devices(e.g., as notification messagesB passed in a direction indicated by arrowB), as shown in. In one embodiment, the IoT devicesare operatively coupled to (e.g., linked or synchronized to) and receive the notification messages(including control signals) from at least one of the serverand one of the user devices. It should also be appreciated that for clarity purposes, while local memory (MEM)is illustrated, other components (e.g., a processor or CPU, an IO CNTL, input and output devices, and the like) of the smart or IoT devicesare not depicted in. However, it should be appreciated that like client/user devices, these components may be present within the IoT devices. Exemplary IoT devices, illustrated inas IoT Devices 1 to N, include, for example, devices within transportation vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, boats, etc.), home systems and appliances (e.g., refrigerators, coffee makers, thermostats, etc.), and personal devices and/or consumer products (e.g., alarm clocks, wristwatches, electronics, etc.). It should be appreciated that this list of exemplary smart or IoT devicesis provided for illustration purposes only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure as other devices may receive and act upon the messagesreceived within the system.

200 100 100 10 120 100 12 192 10 12 200 100 200 200 100 200 202 192 150 10 100 120 200 202 150 120 200 1000 200 150 In one embodiment, event status messages, shown generally at, are provided to and/or retrieved by the event notification and messaging systemfrom, for example, the aforementioned event organizers, local government officials, administrators of schools, school districts, or universities, managers for television, film, and/or stage productions, administrators or staff of travel and/or transportation service providers, and the like, utilizing the systemas one of the usersoperating one of the user devicesor providing information to the systemas an unaffiliated third-partyoperating one of the processing devices. The usersand unaffiliated third-partiesproviding the notification messageto the systemare referred to hereinafter collectively as notifiers. The event status messagesfrom the notifiers include a change in status of an event such as, for example, a delay, closure, or cancellation of the event, early or late dismissal of the event, or a revised format for the event. In one embodiment, the event status messagesare provided to the event notification and messaging system, shown as messagesA sent in a direction indicated by arrowA, from the notifiers via an electronic mail message, electronic broadcast message, alert, or like dissemination of news or information, API call, or data feed (e.g., XML feed, CSV feed, or like data feed) from one of the processing devicesto the server, or by the notifier as one of the usersof the event notification and messaging systemoperating one of the client/user devicesto directly input the event status messages, shown as messagesB sent in a direction indicated by arrowB, to the server. In one embodiment, the notifier operates one of the client/user devicesto input the event status messagesB via, for example, one of the GUIs(described below) and to send the input event status messagesB to the server.

100 110 120 150 100 112 124 154 160 112 124 154 160 100 200 170 100 10 120 12 100 100 In one aspect of the event notification and messaging system, the IoT devices, the client/user devices, and the serverexecute a plurality of programmable instructions of a multifunctional School DelayZz software application or app (e.g., “APP”) of the School DelayZz system, or portions or modules thereof,A,A,A, orA, stored in local memory,,, or network memory, respectively, to implement the systemand features and/or functions thereof that receive the event status messagesincluding a change in status or format of the event, generate the notification messagesin response thereto, and that enable automatically and selectively, one or more attendees or others to adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification messages. In one embodiment, users of the system(e.g., the operatorsoperating the user devicesor the unaffiliated third-party notifiers) may be granted differing authorizations or permissions and/or levels thereof, to execute various ones of the features and/or functions of the system. For example, the authorizations or permissions may specify whether a user or notifier may access and/or manipulate, e.g., perform operations upon, information stored and/or processed within the system, as described herein.

100 10 120 150 112 124 154 160 100 1000 3000 10 14 220 124 120 14 100 150 10 100 2 2 FIGS.A andB In one embodiment, the users of the system(e.g., the operatorsof one of the user devices) interact with the serverduring one or more processes/methods of the School DelayZz APP (e.g., APPsA,A,A,A) executed within the systemvia one or more of the GUIsandexhibited to the usersand to the system administrators. For example,depict a Login methodof the School DelayZz APPA executing on one of the client/user devices. It should be appreciated that while presented as a client/user login method on, for example, a mobile telecommunication or computing device, a similar login method is employed for system administratorsaccessing the systemby login in through the serverand event facility (e.g., school) administratorsaccessing the systemvia an internet website, as described below.

2 2 FIGS.A andB 15 FIG. 11 FIG. 222 10 120 124 224 124 10 124 224 226 226 124 170 120 150 124 220 226 228 2000 10 220 230 226 124 220 226 232 1800 10 220 232 230 Referring again to, at Step, the operatorof the client/user deviceis exhibited a Splash Screen including the School DelayZz™ system logo (not shown) as the School DelayZz APPA loads. At Step, the APPA determines whether the operator/user is logged on to the APP. If the user is logged on to the APPA, a “Yes” path is followed from Stepto Step. At Step, the APPA determines whether an alarm is configured for responding to one or more of the notification messagesreceived at the user devicefrom the server. If at least one alarm is already configured, then the APPA continues executing the Login methodand follows a “Yes” path from Stepto Stepwhere a User Dashboard GUI, illustrated in, is exhibited to the userand execution of the Login methodproceeds to Stepwhere its execution ends. Referring again to Step, if the user is logged on and no alarms are configured, then the APPA continues executing the Login methodand follows a “No” path from Stepto Stepwhere a Configure Alarms GUI, illustrated in, is exhibited to the user. Once exhibited, execution of the Login methodproceeds from Stepto Stepwhere execution ends.

224 220 124 224 240 240 1100 10 1100 10 124 100 10 242 124 10 10 100 242 244 244 10 1120 1120 1122 1124 1130 100 10 1120 10 1140 124 246 124 100 10 100 160 162 162 161 163 160 124 220 248 120 10 170 182 180 150 120 124 248 250 250 10 220 250 252 248 220 120 248 254 254 124 10 100 10 220 254 256 124 256 252 220 10 220 254 226 3 FIG. 2 FIG.A 2 FIG.B 3 FIG. 2 FIG.B 2 FIG.B 2 FIG.B 2 FIG.A Referring again to Stepof the Login method, if the user is not logged on to the APPA, a “No” path is followed from Stepto Step. At Step, a Login GUI, illustrated in, is exhibited to the user. In the Login GUIthe userinforms (via actions taken) the APPA whether he/she is an existing user of the systemor whether the useris a new user. At Step, the APPA determines whether the useris an existing or a new user. If the useris an existing user of the system, then a “Yes” path is followed from Stepto Stepby following a connector labeled “A” fromto. At Step, the user enters his/her login credentials. For example, as illustrated in, an existing userenters their login credentials in a region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the login credentialsinclude a unique username entered into a username fieldlabeled “Username” and a password entered into a password fieldlabeled “Password.” If the existing user has forgotten their password, a “Forgot Password” navigation controlmay be selected to initiate a password reset process, as is known in the art, using, for example, a registered electronic mail address previously provided to the system. Once the userhas entered their login credentials, the userselects a “Proceed” control buttonto submit the login credentials to the APPA. At Stepof, the AP164PA receives the user's submitted credentials and initiates an inquiry to verify whether the user is an authorized user of the system. For example, in one embodiment, a list of authorized usersof the systemis maintained in the data storage device, as shown generally at. The user listis populated during a registration process (outlined below) wherein usernamesand associated one or more event facilities(e.g., schools, school districts, event venues, and the like) are defined and stored within the data storage device. As the verification process is undertaken, the APPA continues executing the Login methodand at Stepdetermines whether the user deviceoperated by the userhas sufficient network connectivity available, for example, is able to receive the notification messagesover the communication connectionsof the networkfrom the server. If network connectivity is not available to the user device, then execution of the APPA proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, a warning or alert message (not shown) is exhibited to the userinforming the user that no or insufficient connectivity is available. Once the warning or alert message is exhibited, execution of the Login methodproceeds from Stepto Stepwhere execution ends. Referring again to Step() of the Login method, if sufficient network connectivity is available to the user device, then execution of proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA evaluates the results of the verification process to determine whether the useris an authorized user of the system. If the useris not authorized user (e.g., has not been previously registered as a user or has an inactive status), then execution of the Login methodproceeds from Stepto Stepwhere the APPA exhibits a “Login Failure” or similar alert message (not shown) to the user and execution proceeds from Stepto Stepwhere execution of the Login methodends. If the useris an authorized user (e.g., previously registered user having an active status), then execution of the Login methodproceeds from Stepback to Stepby following a connector labeled “C” fromto, where the alarm configuration status is determined.

242 220 100 220 400 242 402 1100 1150 1100 124 400 2 FIG.A 2 2 FIGS.A andB 4 4 4 FIGS.A,B, andC 2 FIG.A 4 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 4 FIG.A 2 FIG.A 4 FIG.A 3 FIG. 4 4 4 FIGS.A,B, andC Referring again to Stepof the Login methodof, if the user is not an existing user (e.g., not previously registered or registered but with an inactive status) of the system, then execution proceeds from the Login methodofto a New User Sign Up methodofby following a connector labeled “B” fromto. For example, execution proceeds from Stepofto Stepofby following the connector labeled “B” fromto. Similarly, and referring to the Login GUIof, if the user selects a “New User Sign Up Here” navigation controlon the Login GUI, the APPA invokes the New User Sign Up methodof.

402 1200 10 100 1200 10 1220 1220 1120 1222 1224 100 1200 1226 100 100 1230 1200 1200 1240 100 10 1220 10 1250 400 1200 1260 1270 1100 220 224 5 FIG. 5 FIG. 3 FIG. 3 FIG. At Step, a Sign Up GUI, illustrated in, is exhibited to the userso that the user may register with the system. In the Sign Up GUI, the new user defines his/her login credentials. For example, as illustrated in, the new userenters their choice of login credentials in a region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the login credentials, like those of the login credentialsfor existing users (), include a unique username entered into a username fieldlabeled “Username” and a password entered into a Password fieldlabeled “Password.” In one embodiment, the user's username is an electronic email (e.g., email) address of the user. The email address may be used by the systemto contact the user, for example, to reset the user's password or to perform other administrative tasks. In one embodiment, the Sign Up GUIincludes textual instructionsaimed to inform the new user of systemrequirements of a valid password (e.g., a minimum length and required character(s)). In one embodiment, the new user may also input an event facility, for example, school name, if known to be participating in the system, in a School fieldlabeled “School” of the Sign Up GUI. In one embodiment, the Sign Up GUIalso includes an Agree checkbox control elementlabeled “By clicking proceed I agree to the Terms and Conditions,” where the new user is asked to confirm that he/she agrees to certain Terms and Conditions for utilizing the event notification and messaging system, and the features and functions thereof. Once the userhas entered their login credentials, the userselects a “Proceed” control buttonto submit the login credentials. Alternatively, the user may terminate the New User Sign Up methodand quit the Sign Up GUIby selecting a “Back to Login” navigation text elementor an arrow navigation control element, which if invoked, reloads the Login GUIofand restarts the Login methodat Step.

4 FIG.A 6 FIG. 6 FIG. 3 FIG. 404 400 1222 1224 124 406 100 100 406 406 408 408 124 404 406 124 406 410 410 124 1300 1300 1310 124 100 1310 1310 1310 10 1320 1310 124 10 400 1300 1330 1100 220 224 Referring again to, at Stepof the New User Sign Up method, the entered login credentials input into fieldsandare received by the APPA. At Step, an inquiry is initiated to determine whether the input login credentials, for example, the username, is available for adoption and use in the system. As noted above, in one embodiment, usernames within the systemare unique therefore two users cannot share a same username. If at Stepthe login credentials are not available for use, execution proceeds along a “No” path from Stepto Step. At Step, the APPA exhibits a “Login Failure” or similar alert message (not shown) to the user and execution proceeds back to Stepwhere the user is prompted to again enter new login credentials. Referring again to Step, if the new user's login credentials are available, then execution of the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA exhibits a Select State GUIas depicted in. As shown in, the Select State GUIincludes a State fieldlabeled “State” where a user may manually input a state name (e.g., a State within the United States of America) and invoke a search function whereby the School DelayZz APPA searches for schools, school districts, venues, or event facilities within the selected state that are registered and/or are participating within the system. In one embodiment, the State fieldincludes a drop-down list elementA that provides predefined, acceptable options for the State fields, for example, the States within the United States of America in, for example, an alphabetically ordered list. Once a State is selected from the drop-down list and/or otherwise entered into the State field, the userselects a “Search” control buttonto submit the selected State (e.g., value within the State field) to the APPA. Alternatively, the usermay terminate the New User Sign Up methodand quit the Select State GUIby selecting an “Already School DelayZz User? Login Here” navigation text element, which if invoked, reloads the Login GUIofand restarts the Login methodat Step.

400 412 10 1310 124 124 160 160 164 165 167 169 100 169 165 167 164 167 100 414 400 164 10 1400 1400 1420 1422 1424 1426 1428 1430 100 1420 1440 1420 10 1440 1440 1440 1420 4 FIG.A 1 FIG. 7 FIG. 7 FIG. Referring again to the New User Sign Up methodof, at Step, the userselected State (input to the State field) is received by the APPA and, once received, the APPA retrieves from the data storage devicethe event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, event venues, user groups, and the like) within the selected State. It should be appreciated that while described as one or more event facilities, as described above it is within the scope of the present disclosure for the one or more event facilities to include groups of users within one of the event facilities or a group of users being defined individually as one of the event facilities. For example, groups may include user groups associated with one facility such as, a teachers group, an administrators group, a staff group, and a students group, and defined as a subset of a specified school as the event facility, or the groups may be defined individually as their own event facilities having the characteristics of the specified school. In one embodiment, registered or participating ones of the event facilities are stored within the data storage devicein an event facilities list, shown generally at, which includes fields corresponding to the event facility including, e.g., the event facility's name, location, and other identifying information, a statusof the facility, and a list of one or more authorized personsthat are approved or otherwise authorized to provide a change of status of one or more events held at the event facility and/or other characteristics of the facility within the system. As shown in, these approved or authorized persons are referred to as Authorized Notifiersfor the event facility. It should be appreciated that while the status fieldof the event facilities listis shown as one field, in one embodiment, the status fieldmay include both a status of the event facility's registration within the system, for example, whether it is active and participating, whether the facility's registration is pending (e.g., initial registration awaits review and approval), or whether the event facility is inactive for some reason or condition, as well as a status of events held at the facility, for example, whether one or more events at the event facility are delayed or cancelled, or whether the event is being conducted with a change in format (e.g., conducted remotely). At Stepof the New User Sign Up method, the retrieved event facilities from the list of event facilitieslocated within the selected State are exhibited to the useron a Select School GUIof. As shown in, the Select School GUIincludes a list of Event Facilities, shown generally at, including individual facilities (e.g., schools),,, and, and/or grouping of facilities (e.g., school districts)registered or participating within the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, the list of Event Facilitiesincludes additional identifying information such as, for example, a City and State name. In one embodiment, a Search fieldlabeled “Search by school or school district” is provided to locate a particular event facility within the list of Event Facilities, which may be long in length for certain States. The usermay enter a name of an event facility within the Search fieldand select a magnifying-glass iconA to initiate a search for the input event facility (e.g., value of the Search field) within the exhibited list.

1420 416 400 1420 1420 10 100 1420 1450 124 400 416 418 418 124 400 1500 1500 100 10 100 100 1500 1510 1520 1530 1540 1540 100 10 1560 100 124 400 418 420 10 1500 1570 1100 10 1580 1400 400 416 1400 10 1400 1460 1300 400 410 7 FIG. 8 FIG. 8 FIG. 8 FIG. 8 FIG. 3 FIG. 7 FIG. 7 FIG. 7 FIG. 6 FIG. Once the list of Event Facilitiesis exhibited, at Stepof the New User Sign Up method, it is determined (e.g., based on user action) whether the user's desired event facility (e.g., school, school district, user group, etc.) is exhibited within the list of Event Facilities. If the user's desired event facility is not within the, the usermay initiate a process to sign-up, register, or otherwise invite their desired event facility to enroll or participate in the School DelayZz system. For example, if the user's desired event facility is not exhibited within the list of Event Facilities, the user may select the “Can't find your school? Allow us to talk to your school and bring them in. Fill in the Details” navigation text elementon, which if invoked, the APPA continues to execute the New User Sign Up methodby following a “No” path from Stepto Step. At Step, the APPA continues to execute the New User Sign Up methodand exhibits a Contact School GUIof. As shown in, the Contact School GUIincludes fields for identifying an Event Facility that is not currently available within the system(e.g., not registered or participating) and which the userwould like an administrator of the systemto contact and invite to join the system. For example, the Contact School GUIofincludes an Event or School Name fieldlabeled “School name,” location information such as, for example, a City fieldlabeled “City” and a State fieldlabeled “State,” a Contact Number fieldlabeled “School contact number,” and optionally, a Your Contact Email fieldlabeled “Your contact email (so that we can keep you updated),” where the user may input his/your contact email address to be kept apprised of enrollment within the systemof this new event facility. Once completed, the userselects the “Submit” control buttonto provide the contact information to the system(e.g., a system administrator). The APPA then continues to execute the New User Sign Up methodpassing from Stepto Stepwhere execution ends. Alternatively, the usermay quit the Contact School GUIofby selecting a “Return to Login” textual navigation controlto return to the Login GUIofor the usermay select an arrow navigation control element, which if invoked, reloads the Select School GUIofand restarts the New User Sign Up methodat Step. Referring again to the Select School GUIof, the usermay quit the Select School GUIofby selecting an arrow navigation control element, which if invoked, reloads the Select School GUIofand restarts the New User Sign Up methodat Step.

400 416 1420 400 416 430 430 10 1420 400 124 430 432 1600 1600 1200 1600 1420 10 1426 1630 400 432 434 1620 1622 1624 10 100 1640 10 10 1650 100 400 124 434 436 124 100 161 100 162 100 160 162 161 163 1630 1600 161 163 100 161 163 10 100 162 160 100 168 4 FIG.A 7 FIG. 4 FIG.A 4 FIG.B 4 FIG.A 4 FIG.B 7 FIG. 9 FIG. 9 FIG. 5 FIG. 9 FIG. 7 FIG. 7 FIG. 9 FIG. 9 FIG. 1 FIG. 9 FIG. Referring again to the New User Sign Up methodof, at Step, if the user's desired event facility is exhibited within the list(), execution of the methodproceeds from Stepofto Stepofby following a connector labeled “D” fromto. At Step, the userselects one of the events (e.g., a school, school district, user group, or the like) exhibited in the list of Event Facilitiesof. Execution of the New User Sign Up methodby the APPA then proceeds from Stepto Stepwhere a Sign Up GUIofis exhibited. It should be appreciated that the Sign Up GUIofis substantially similar to the Sign Up GUIof. However, in, the Sign Up GUIis now populated with the selected event from the list of Event Facilitiesin. For example, the userselects the exhibited event labeled “Fairgrounds Middle School, Nashua, New Hampshire” atofand that value is populated in the “School” fieldof. Execution of the New User Sign Up methodcontinues and proceeds from Stepto Stepwhere the user enters their login credentials (e.g., a username and password) into a Login Credentials regionincluding a Username fieldlabeled “Username” and Password fieldlabeled “Password.” As shown in, the usermay also indicate their acceptance of certain Terms and Conditions of the event notification and messaging systemvia a Checkbox control element. Once the userhas completed their actions, the userselects the “Proceed” control buttonto provide their Login Credentials to the system(e.g., a system administrator). Execution of the New User Sign Up methodby the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepwhere the APPA submits the details of the user's registration to the system. For example, within the registration process the user's is added as an authorized userof the system. In one embodiment, the user's information is added to the list of authorized usersof the systemmaintained in the data storage device. As shown in, in one embodiment, the list of authorized usersincludes the usernameand associated one or more event facilities(e.g., schools, school districts, event venues, user group, and the like), for example, as specified in the school fieldof the Sign Up GUIof. As should be appreciated, in one aspect of the present disclosure, the association between usersand one or more event facilitiesmeans that a change in status of an event held at the one or more facilities is communicated by the systemto each of the usersassociated with the event facilityto allow for a selectively and automatic response to the change in status as described herein. In one embodiment, the registration process may include storing additional informational or status fields related to the user. For example, in one embodiment, a user may be identified as having an “active” (regular, authorized user) or an “inactive” status (non-participating user). In one embodiment, a system administrator monitors and updates the status of userswithin the system. In one embodiment, the user status information is stored within the list of authorized users. Alternatively, the user status information is stored in another active versus inactive user list in the data storage device, for example, together with other variables and/or parameters of the systemthat are used by the system, shown stored generally at.

124 400 440 120 10 170 182 180 150 120 400 124 440 442 442 10 400 442 444 400 440 400 120 440 446 446 124 10 100 400 446 448 124 448 444 400 10 400 446 450 4 FIG.B 4 FIG.B 4 FIG.C As information within the registration process is being recorded (e.g., stored), the APPA continues executing the New User Sign Up methodand at Step() determines whether the user deviceoperated by the userhas sufficient network connectivity available, for example, is able to receive the notification messagesover the communication connectionsof the networkfrom the server. If network connectivity is not available to the user device, then execution of the New User Sign Up methodby the APPA proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, a warning or alert message (not shown) is exhibited to the userinforming the user that no or insufficient connectivity is available. Once the warning or alert message is exhibited, execution of the New User Sign Up methodproceeds from Stepto Stepwhere execution of the New User Sign Up methodends. Referring again to Stepof the New User Sign Up method, if sufficient network connectivity is available to the user device, then execution of proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA evaluates the results of the login and registration process to determine whether the userhas successfully been added as an authorized user of the system. If the login and registration process is not successful, then execution of the New User Sign Up methodproceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path, where the APPA exhibits a “Login Failure” or similar alert message (not shown) to the user and execution proceeds from Stepto Stepwhere execution of the New User Sign Up methodends. If the login and registration process is successful, then the useris added as authorized user and execution of the New User Login methodproceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path and by following a connector labeled “E” fromto.

10 100 450 124 10 1000 100 10 450 452 452 124 1700 10 1700 1000 100 1700 1710 1720 1710 1720 450 10 450 454 454 124 1800 10 170 170 10 100 400 124 456 10 FIG. 11 FIG. As the added useris a new user to the system, at Step, the APPA presents the userwith an option to view one of more exemplary GUIsthat provide an introduction to the systemand its features and functions. For example, if the userindicates that he/she does want to view an introduction, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA exhibits a Configure Alarm Introduction GUI, illustrated in, to the user. In one embodiment, the Configure Alarm Introduction GUIis one of a number of GUIsthat include GUIs that invoke a number of features and functions of the system(as described below) but in this introduction mode, the Configure Alarm Introduction GUIis overlayed with instructional text, shown generally atand, to sequentially demonstrate how to use functionality such as, for example, editing default alarm settingsand/or configuring an alarmbased on a change of status of an event at an event facility such as a Delay, Closing, or change of format to Remote participation. If at Step, the userindicates that he/she does not want to view the introduction, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, the APPA exhibits a Configure Alarms GUIof, where, as discussed below, the usermay input one or more alarm settings in response to receipt of one or more notification messagesreceived from the server. While the usermay then continue to utilize the systemto configure one or more of the alarms, execution of the New User Login methodby the APPA ends at Step.

11 FIG. 14 FIG. 11 FIG. 14 FIG. 1800 1810 1820 1830 10 170 100 1810 1812 10 1814 10 1900 1810 1816 1818 1816 10 1900 1818 100 10 As shown in, the Configure Alarms GUIincludes one or more regions, for example, a first region, a second region, and a third region, shown generally at,, and, respectively, that guide a userto define their response to receipt of one or more notification messagesreceived from the system. In one embodiment, the first regionis identified by, for example, a textual label “Set time for regular wake up”. In the first region the userspecifies (e.g., inputs) an alarm setting defining a regular or usual time of day for them to wake up to attend an event (e.g., a school day, a meeting, a conference, a schedule for travel, or the like) taking into account no change in the status of a planned start time for the event. In one embodiment, the alarm setting is defined in fieldas a value of, for example, “06:30 am”. In one embodiment, the usermay manually enter the alarm value (e.g., type in the value for the field using an input device such as a keyboard or touch screen display) or, as describe below, may select the field (e.g., double click the field with an input device such as a mouse) to invoke an Edit Alarm GUIof. In one embodiment, as shown in, the first regionincludes a recurrence settingshown as a value of “Daily,” indicating that the alarm setting is repeated in a twenty-four (24) hour cycle, and a time period for a next alarm to be triggeredshown as a value of “Alarm in 7 hours 36 minutes.” As described below, the recurrence settingis definable by the userin, for example, the Edit Alarm GUIof. In one embodiment, the values within the next alarm to be triggered fieldare calculated by the systembased upon predefined settings by the userand a current time of day.

1820 1822 1820 10 170 10 1820 1824 1826 1828 10 1824 1826 1828 1824 10 170 1830 1824 10 1832 1836 1832 10 1834 1814 170 10 1834 170 170 124 10 124 1814 1814 110 100 1836 10 1838 1814 1800 1839 10 1838 124 1814 1814 1832 1836 10 170 10 1840 1800 1800 124 2000 11 FIG. 15 FIG. In one embodiment, the second regionis identified by, for example, a textual label “Expecting inclement weather?”. In the second regionthe userspecifies their response in relation to the type of change in status for the event, e.g., whether a received notification messagesinforms the userthat the event is one of delayed, closed or cancelled, or its format has changed to a remote session. In one embodiment, the second regionidentifies each of these types of changes by, for example, control tabs,, and, labeled “Delay”, “Closing”, and “Remote”, respectively. When the userselects one of the control tabs,,, they are defining the response to the selected type of change in status for the event. For example, as the Delay control tabis selected in, the useris defining the response to receipt of one of the notification messagesindicating that the event has been delayed. As shown in the third region, in response to the selection of the Delay control tab, the useris provided, for example, with two options, shown atand. In a first option, the usermay activate a toggle control elementto add a delay time to their alarm setting (e.g., the value within the field) equal to the time delay for the event as indicated within the notification message. For example, if a start of the event (e.g., school day) is delayed sixty (60) minutes and the useractivated the toggle control elementin advance to receiving the notification message, then in response to receiving the notification messagethe School DelayZz APPA automatically adds a sixty (60) minute delay to the useralarm setting. In this example, the APPA adds sixty (60) minutes to the value of “6:30 am” in fieldresulting in a new value of “7:30 am” in fieldsuch that a timekeeping device, e.g., one of the IoT devices, associated with the School DelayZz systemtriggers its alarm at this new 7:30 am time as opposed to the previous 6:30 am time setting. In a second option, the usermay activate a slider control elementto add a variable delay time from between, for example, a numeric value of five (5) minutes to one hundred twenty (120) minutes, to their alarm setting (e.g., the value within the field). In one embodiment, the Configure Alarms GUIexhibits a delay period(e.g., “90 minutes”) set by the useractivating the slider control element. Accordingly, in this example, the APPA adds ninety (90) minutes to the value of “6:30 am” in fieldresulting in a new value of “8:00 am” in fieldsuch that the timekeeping device triggers its alarm at 8:00 am rather than at 6:30 am. In one embodiment, the two optionsandare mutually exclusive such that enabling one option disables the other option. Once the useris satisfied with their actions to configure their response to a Delay status within the notification message, the userselects a “Save” control buttonto close the Configure Alarms GUI. In one embodiment, in response to the closing of the Configure Alarms GUI, then APPA navigates to the User Dashboard GUI, illustrated in.

12 FIG. 11 FIG. 12 FIG. 14 FIG. 15 FIG. 1800 10 170 1800 1800 1810 1820 1820 1800 1824 1826 10 1830 1800 1830 1800 1830 1831 1826 10 1832 1836 1832 1836 1800 1832 10 1834 1810 10 1834 170 170 124 110 100 1836 1837 10 1838 1836 10 1836 1900 1838 124 1814 1836 1832 1836 10 170 10 1840 1800 1800 124 2000 As shown in, a Configure Alarms GUIA is exhibited when the userdefines his/her response to receipt of one of the notification messagesindicating that the event has been cancelled or closed. It should be appreciated that the Configure Alarms GUIA is similar to the Configure Alarms GUI() in that the contents of the first regionare the same, contents of a second regionA is substantially the same as the second regionof the Configure Alarms GUIexcept that a Delay control tabA is not selected while a Closing control tabA is selected indicating, as noted above, that the useris defining his/her response to an event being closed. A third regionA of the Configure Alarms GUIA is different from the third regionof the Configure Alarms GUI. For example, as shown in, the third regionA is identified by, for example, a textual label “In case of closing”A and in response to the selection of the Closing control tabA, the useris provided, for example, with two options, shown atA andA, different from the optionsandof the Configure Alarms GUI. In the first optionA, the usermay activate a toggle control elementA to turn off the alarm set in the first region. For example, if the event (e.g., school day) is cancelled and the userhas activated the toggle control elementA in advance to receiving the notification message, then in response to receiving the notification messagethe School DelayZz APPA automatically deactivates or cancels the alarm of the timekeeping device, e.g., one of the IoT devices, associated with the School DelayZz system. In the second optionA identified by a textual label “Set a new wake up time”A, the usermay activate toggle control elementA to set or specify (e.g., manually input) a new alarm setting defining an alternate time of day for them to wake up as the event (e.g., a school day, a meeting, a conference, a schedule for travel, or the like) has been cancelled and therefore they do not have to attend the event. In one embodiment, the alarm setting is defined in fieldA as a value of, for example, “08:30 am”. In one embodiment, the usermay manually enter the alarm value (e.g., type in the value for the field using an input device such as a keyboard or touch screen display) or, as describe below, may select the fieldA (e.g., double click the field with an input device such as a mouse, pointer, or his/her finger) to invoke the Edit Alarm GUIof, described below. Accordingly, when the toggle elementA is enabled, the APPA adds one hundred twenty (120) minutes to the “regular wake up” value of “6:30 am” in fieldresulting in a new value of “8:30 am” in fieldA such that the timekeeping device triggers its alarm at 8:30 am rather than at 6:30 am. In one embodiment, the two optionsA andA are mutually exclusive such that enabling one option disables the other option. Once the useris satisfied with their actions to configure their response to a Closing status within the notification message, the userselects the “Save” control buttonto close the Configure Alarms GUIA. In one embodiment, in response to the closing of the Configure Alarms GUIA, then APPA navigates to the User Dashboard GUI, illustrated in.

13 FIG. 11 FIG. 12 FIG. 13 FIG. 11 FIG. 12 FIG. 1800 10 170 1800 1800 1800 1810 1820 1820 1800 1820 1800 1824 1826 1828 10 1830 1800 1830 1800 1830 1800 1830 1828 10 1832 1836 1832 1836 1800 1832 1836 1800 As shown in, a Configure Alarms GUIB is exhibited when the userdefines his/her response to receipt of one of the notification messagesindicating that the format of the event has been changed to a remote format. It should be appreciated that the Configure Alarms GUIB is similar to the Configure Alarms GUI() and the Configure Alarms GUIA () in that the contents of the first regionare the same, contents of a second regionB is substantially the same as the second regionof the Configure Alarms GUIand the second regionA of the Configure Alarms GUIA except that a Delay control tabsB and a Closing control tabB are not selected while a Remote control tabB is selected indicating, as noted above, that the useris defining his/her response to a format of an event being changed to a remote format. A third regionB of the Configure Alarms GUIB is different from the regionof the Configure Alarms GUIand the regionA of the Configure Alarms GUIA. For example, as shown in, the third regionB, in response to the selection of the Remote control tabB, the useris provided, for example, with two options, shown atB andB, different from the optionsandof the Configure Alarms GUI() and optionsA andA of the Configure Alarms GUIA ().

1832 10 1834 1814 170 10 1834 170 170 124 10 124 1814 1814 110 100 1836 10 1838 1814 1800 1839 10 1838 124 1814 1814 10 1832 1836 1850 1832 1836 10 170 10 1840 1800 1800 124 2000 15 FIG. In a first optionB, the usermay activate a toggle control elementB to add a delay time to their alarm setting (e.g., the value within the field) equal to the time delay for the event as indicated within the notification message. For example, if a start of the event (e.g., school day) is delayed third (30) minutes and the useractivated the toggle control elementB in advance to receiving the notification message, then in response to receiving the notification messagethe School DelayZz APPA automatically adds a thirty (30) minute delay to the useralarm setting. In this example, the APPA adds thirty (30) minutes to the value of “6:30 am” in fieldresulting in a new value of “7:00 am” in fieldsuch that a timekeeping device, e.g., one of the IoT devices, associated with the School DelayZz systemtriggers its alarm at this new 7:00 am time as opposed to the previous 6:30 am time. In a second optionB, the usermay activate a slider control elementB to add a variable delay time from between, for example, a numeric value of five (5) minutes to one hundred twenty (120) minutes, to their alarm setting (e.g., the value within the field). In one embodiment, the Configure Alarms GUIB exhibits a delay periodB (e.g., “90 minutes”) set by the useractivating the slider control elementB. Accordingly, in this example, the APPA adds ninety (90) minutes to the value of “6:30 am” in fieldresulting in a new value of “8:00 am” in fieldsuch that the timekeeping device triggers its alarm at 8:00 am rather than at 6:30 am. In one embodiment, the usermay specify or define, for example, an override to his/her instructions (e.g., selections described above within the two optionsB andB) to delay the alarm by selecting a checkbox control elementB including a textual descriptive label “No Delay time if there is no change in the school start time”. In one embodiment, the two optionsB andB are mutually exclusive such that enabling one option disables the other option. Once the useris satisfied with their actions to configure their response to a Remote status within the notification message, the userselects a “Save” control buttonto close the Configure Alarms GUIB. In one embodiment, in response to the closing of the Configure Alarms GUIB, then APPA navigates to the User Dashboard GUI, illustrated in.

1800 10 1814 1814 1900 1900 1910 1920 1910 10 1912 1916 1912 1914 1912 1914 1916 1912 1900 1916 11 FIG. 14 FIG. 14 FIG. 14 FIG. 14 FIG. 14 FIG. As described above with reference to the Configure Alarms GUIof, in one embodiment, the usermay edit the value within the alarm fieldby, for example, double clicking the fieldwith an input device such as a mouse, to invoke the Edit Alarm GUIof. As shown in, in one embodiment the Edit Alarm GUIincludes two regionsandfor editing settings or characteristics of the alarm. In the first region, the useredits the value for the time, e.g., as a clock value including a 12-hour clock intervalrepresenting the twenty-four (24) hours of a day with the numbers one (1) to twelve (12) and an “AM” or a “PM” label, identifying a 12-hour period from midnight to just prior to noon (AM) and a 12-hour period from noon to just before midnight (PM), as is known in the art. As shown in, accompanying the hourly clock periods (e.g., values “1” to “12”) within the 12-hour clock intervalis a 60-minute clock interval(e.g., “00” to “59”) identifying each 60-minute period within an hour, as is also known in the art. In one embodiment, as shown in, each of the 12-hour clock interval, the 60-minute clock interval, and the AM/PM labelsare exhibited in a scrolling wheel format. It should be appreciated that while the 12-hour clock intervalis depicted in, in another embodiment, the Edit Alarm GUImay include a 24-hour clock interval identifying individually, each of the hours within a day. In such an embodiment, the AM/PM labelsmay be eliminated.

1920 1900 10 1930 1940 1950 1930 1932 10 1934 1930 1940 1942 10 1940 1944 1940 1950 1952 10 10 120 1950 1954 1950 10 170 10 1960 124 120 1900 10 1970 1900 In the second regionof the Edit Alarm GUI, the usermay define the recurrence of the alarm utilizing a fieldlabeled “Repeat”, a title or other identifier for the alarm setting utilizing a fieldlabeled “Label”, and a sound broadcast as the alarm is triggered utilizing a fieldlabeled “Sound”. In one embodiment, the Repeat fieldincludes a drop-down list element, which when selected by the userexhibits, for example, multiple options for recurrence of the alarm including “Every Sunday,” “Every Monday,” “Every Tuesday,” etc., as options for each day of the week, a “Daily” option, or a “Week Day” option (e.g., for days Monday through Friday), and a blank or null value indicating that no recurrence should be implemented. Once a selection is made, the selected value is exhibited in a fieldassociated with the Repeat field. In one embodiment, the Label fieldincludes a control element, which when selected by the userexhibits, for example, a text box where the user may enter a custom identification for the alarm. In one embodiment, a default value for the Label fieldis “Alarm.” Once a selection is made, the selected value is exhibited in a fieldassociated with the Label field. In one embodiment, the Sound fieldincludes a drop-down list element, which when selected by the userexhibits, for example, a list of the sounds available on the user's user device. In one embodiment, a default value for the Sound fieldis a “Radar” sound. Once a selection is made, the selected value is exhibited in a fieldassociated with the Sound field. Once the useris satisfied with their actions to edit the alarm setting in response to the notification message, the userselects a “Save” control buttonto store their modifications, e.g., within memoryof the user device, and to close the Edit Alarm GUI. Alternatively, the usermay select a “Cancel” control buttonto discard their modifications and to close the Edit Alarm GUI.

10 1900 124 1900 1800 2000 2000 124 124 160 124 150 162 163 10 161 150 163 161 167 163 2000 2010 163 10 124 2012 2000 2000 124 167 2014 10 124 2014 124 2014 124 2014 124 2014 10 100 10 14 163 10 100 124 10 163 2016 2018 124 10 2016 2000 2020 10 10 2016 2022 1900 11 FIG. 15 FIG. 15 FIG. 15 FIG. 15 FIG. 14 FIG. When the usercloses the Edit Alarm GUI, the School DelayZz APPA either navigates back to the previous GUI from which the Edit Alarm GUIwas invoked, e.g., the Configure Alarms GUIof, or to a User Dashboard GUIof. In one embodiment, as the User Dashboard GUIis invoked, the School DelayZz APPA requests the user's information from local memoryor from the data storage device. For example, the APPA queries the serverto retrieve information from the list of authorized usersincluding the one or more event facilities(e.g., schools, school districts, or other facilities) that the user(e.g., based on username) is associated with. In response, the serverprovides the one or more event facilitiesassociated with the usernameand the statusof events being held at the facilities. As shown in, the User Dashboard GUIincludes a region, shown generally at, that exhibits the one or more event facilitiesassociated with the user. For example, the APPA exhibits an event facility “ELM Street Middle School” atof the User Dashboard GUI. In one embodiment, the location of the event facility, e.g., City and State, are also exhibited the User Dashboard GUI. In one embodiment, below each of the event facilities, the APPA provides the statusin a message fieldto the user. For example, when events at the event facility are operating as planned, the APPA exhibits a “No delays or closing reported. Early dismissal today.” message within the message fieldas shown in. When events at the facility are delayed, the APPA exhibits a message reporting the delay and corresponding time period of delay by, e.g., exhibiting a “Reported Delay—30 Minutes” message within the message field. When events at the facility are cancelled or closed, the APPA exhibits a message reporting the closure by, e.g., exhibiting a “Closing Reported” message within the message field. When events at the facility have changed format from in-person to remote, the APPA exhibits a message reporting the change in format as well as whether no delay or a delay and corresponding time period of delay has been implemented by, e.g., exhibiting a “No delays or closing reported. School is operating remotely” message within the message field. It should be appreciated that the above-described messages are merely exemplary and the present disclosure is not limited by these messages or formats of presentation to the user. For example, as described herein, the systemmay be employed by event facility administratorsand/or system administratorsto broadcast an important message (e.g., an emergency condition at or near the event facility) to usersof the system. In one embodiment, below each of the event facilities, the APPA also provides a next scheduled alarm setting of the userassociated with the listed event facility. For example, in an alarm message field, under a textual fieldlabeled “Upcoming Alarm”, the APPA provides the next scheduled alarm setting to the user. As shown in, the alarm message fieldexhibits a daily alarm setting of “06:30 am” as the next scheduled alarm. In one embodiment, the User Dashboard GUIincludes a toggle control elementwhere, if selected by the user, the next scheduled alarm may be selectively enabled or disabled. Additionally, the usermay edit the next scheduled alarm setting by, for example, selecting the alarm message field(e.g., double click the field with an input device such as a mouse, pointing stylus, or his/her finger on a touch sensitive screen) or selecting an “Edit Alarms” textual navigation elementto invoke an Edit Alarm GUIof.

2000 2024 10 2024 124 2000 2100 2100 2110 2112 2114 2116 2118 2120 10 2112 124 2100 1900 10 2114 124 2100 1300 10 2116 124 2100 10 10 1200 124 10 10 2118 124 2100 1700 124 1000 100 100 1710 1720 10 2120 124 2100 1100 15 FIG. 16 FIG. 16 FIG. 14 FIG. 6 FIG. 5 FIG. 10 FIG. 3 FIG. In one embodiment, the User Dashboard GUI() also includes a Cog icon. When the userselects the Cog icon, the School DelayZz APPA closes the User Dashboard GUIand navigates to a Configure GUIof. As shown in, the Configure GUIincludes two or more textual navigation elements exhibited in a region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the navigation elements include an “Edit Alarm” element, a “Change School/School District” element, a “Change Password” element, an “Instructions” element, and a “Logout” element. In one embodiment, when the userselects the Edit Alarm element(e.g., double clicks the element with an input device such as a mouse) the APPA closes the Configure GUIand invokes the Edit Alarm GUIof. In one embodiment, when the userselects the Change School/School District element, the APPA closes the Configure GUIand invokes the Select State GUIof. In one embodiment, when the userselects the Change Password element, the APPA opens a Dialog Box (not shown) on the Configure GUIin which the usermay enter his/her current password as well as a new password, as is known in the art. Once the userenters a new password in an approved format (e.g., see password requirements included in the Sign Up GUIof), the APPA updates the profile for the userto include the new password and closes the Dialog Box. In one embodiment, when the userselects the Instructions element, the APPA closes the Configure GUIand invokes the Configure Alarm Introduction GUIof. As noted above, the APPA provides a number of GUIsthat include GUIs that invoke the features and functions of the system(as described herein) but in an introduction mode, where the GUIs are overlayed with instructional text demonstrating how to use functionality of the systemsuch as, for example, editing default alarm settingsand/or configuring an alarmbased on a change of status of an event at an event facility such as a Delay, Closing, or change of format to Remote participation. In one embodiment, when the userselects the Logout element, the APPA closes the Configure GUIand invokes the Login GUIof.

1100 2100 124 10 120 10 100 180 1000 1100 2100 10 100 3 FIG. 16 FIG. 3 FIG. 16 FIG. It should be appreciated that the above-described GUIs, for example, the Login GUIofto the Configure GUIof, represent GUIs presented by the APPA to the useroperating one of the client/user devicesincluding mobile communication and/or computing devices such as, for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), iPAD™ device, mobile radio telephone, or smartphone (e.g., Apple™ iPhone™ device, Google™ Android™ device, etc.). In another aspect of the present disclosure, the usermay operate a personal computer or workstation, or tablet computer processing device that accesses the School DelayZz event notification and messaging systemvia a website uniform resource locator (URL) available on the network. While GUIspresented via the website may be formatted differently from the GUIs discussed above (e.g., the Login GUIofto the Configure GUIof), the features and functionality accessed therein are substantially similar. Accordingly, for brevity, not all GUIs provided to the usersaccessing the systemvia the website URL are described.

10 120 100 165 14 150 100 3000 100 14 100 154 3100 14 14 3110 3110 3112 3114 14 3116 100 14 3110 14 3120 154 154 100 154 3200 14 17 FIG. 17 FIG. 18 FIG. It should also be appreciated that, as described herein, the users(e.g., operators of the client/user devices) of the systemmay include one or more attendees or participants of the event being conducted at one of the event facilities but also others including, for example, persons picking up or dropping off the attendees of the event, as well as administrators of one or more of the event facility. Additionally, in one embodiment, one or more of the administrators(e.g., operators of the server) of the School DelayZz event notification and messaging systemmay access the GUIsto execute features and functionality of the system, as described herein. As shown in, one of the administratorsnavigates to the URL for the School DelayZz event notification and messaging systemand is presented by the School DelayZz APPA with a Login GUIwhere the administratorenters his/her login credentials. For example, as illustrated inthe administratorenters their login credentials in a region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the login credentialsinclude a unique username entered into a Username fieldlabeled “Email” and a password entered into a Password fieldlabeled “Password.” If the administratorhas forgotten his/her password, a “Forgot Password” textual navigation control elementmay be selected to initiate a password reset process, as is known in the art, using, for example, a registered electronic mail address previously provided to the system. Once the administratorhas entered their login credentials, the administratorselects a “Login” control buttonto submit the login credentials to the APPA. The APPA then validates the administrator's login credentials to ensure that the administrator is authorized to access the School DelayZz system. Once validated, the APPA exhibits a Dashboard GUIofto the School DelayZz administrator.

3000 154 14 3200 3210 3000 3212 14 3210 3200 3214 3300 3216 3800 3218 4200 3200 100 3220 3230 3220 100 3222 100 3224 3226 14 3800 100 5100 14 14 100 18 FIG. 18 FIG. 20 FIG. 26 FIG. 30 FIG. 26 FIG. 36 FIG. In one embodiment, each of the GUIsexhibited by the School DelayZz APPA to the one or more School DelayZz administrators, for example the Dashboard GUIof, may include a Main Menu navigation bar, which may be selected to navigate through the GUIs. For example, a “DASHBOARD” optionmay be selected (e.g., the administratordouble clicks the element with an input device such as a mouse) on the Main Menu navigation barto navigate to the Dashboard GUIof, a “DELAYS, CLOSING & DISMISSALS” optionmay be selected to navigate to a Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIof, a “SCHOOLS/SCHOOL DISTRICTS” optionmay be selected to navigate to a Schools/School Districts GUIof, and an “ADMINS” optionmay be selected to navigate to an Admins GUIof. In one embodiment, the Dashboard GUIincludes one or more regions for exhibiting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionincludes various statistics for the School DelayZz system. For example, in a Schools/School Districts display element, a total number of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) that have been added to the systemis shown. In one embodiment, the total number of facilities is exhibited as including a number of active and/or enrolled facilities (e.g., seventeen (17)) within the total number twenty (20)) as shown atand a number pending and/or still awaiting verification (e.g., three (3)) as shown at. As described herein, event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) are either added by the School DelayZz administratorthrough the a Schools/School Districts GUIofor by an event facility administrator when an account is created within the systemon a Create Account—School Details GUIof. In one embodiment, the new facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) added by the School DelayZz administratoris enrolled/verified automatically on creation. In one embodiment, the new facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) added by the event facility administrator, as described below, needs to be verified by the School DelayZz administratorprior to active enrollment in the system.

18 FIG. 18 FIG. 18 FIG. 23 FIG. 19 FIG. 19 FIG. 33 FIG. 17 FIG. 3220 3200 3228 10 100 3229 3230 14 100 14 3232 14 3234 3234 3236 14 14 3238 14 3240 14 14 3232 3234 3238 154 100 154 3242 3242 3200 3250 154 3200 3600 14 3200 3260 154 3270 3200 3270 3280 3290 3260 3210 3000 154 14 14 3280 154 3200 4500 14 3290 154 3200 100 3100 Referring again to, the first regionof the Dashboard GUIalso includes an App Users display element, which provides a total number of registered users(e.g., one hundred and fifty (150)) of the School DelayZz systemat. In one embodiment, within the second regionone of the School DelayZz administratorsmay initiate a search for one of the event facilities within system(e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like) to determine a status of events being held at the facility. For example, to initiate the search, the administratormanually inputs an event facility name in a first search field(e.g., a “keyword” field wherein a value “Alachua” is exhibited). The administratormay initiate the search and/or optionally narrow or filter the search, by manually inputting or selecting a State in a second search fieldlabeled “STATE”. As shown in, in one embodiment, the second search fieldincludes a drop-down list elementthat, if activated, exhibits a list of States within, for example, the United States, one or all of which that may be selected by the administrator. In one embodiment, the administratormay further initiate the search and/or optionally narrow or filter the search by manually inputting or selecting a date in a third search fieldlabeled “DATE”. In one embodiment, the administratormay manually input the date, e.g., in a day, month, and year (DD/MM/YYYY) format or may select a Calendar control elementthat, if activated, exhibits a current year calendar (e.g., beginning with a current day), from which a day of the year may be selected by the administrator. Once the administratorhas completed his/her desired search criteria (e.g., entered values within one or more of the search fields,, and), the APPA performs a search of event facilities within the system. In one embodiment, the APPA performs the requested search and returns results matching the inputted criteria in a search results table, shown generally at. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the search results tableincludes the names of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.), state, date of a status presented (e.g., a delay, closing, or change in format to remote), and details of the status exhibited. In one embodiment, the Dashboard GUIfurther includes an “ADD DELAYS/CLOSING” control buttonthat, if selected, the APPA closes the Dashboard GUIand invokes an Add Delays/Closings GUIof, where the administratormay add a new occurrence of a delay or a closing of an event facility, as described below. In one embodiment, the Dashboard GUIalso further includes an “Admin User” dropdown menu controlthat, if selected, as shown in, the APPA invokes a navigation menuand exhibits the menu over the Dashboard GUI. As shown in, the navigation menuincludes options of a PROFILE control elementand a LOGOUT control element. It should be appreciated that, in one embodiment, the navigation menu, like the Main Menu navigation bardiscussed above, is exhibited on each of the GUIsexhibited by the School DelayZz APPA to the one or more School DelayZz administrators. If the administratorselects the PROFILE control elementthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard GUIand navigates to a Profile GUI, illustrated in. If the administratorselects the LOGOUT control elementthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard GUI, terminates the administrator's current access to the School DelayZz system, and navigates to the Login GUI, illustrated in.

3210 14 3214 154 3300 14 100 3300 100 3310 3350 3310 3350 3310 3312 3314 3312 14 100 154 3300 3314 3310 3300 3320 3322 3324 3326 3328 14 3322 3324 3326 3328 154 3300 3322 14 154 3352 3350 3310 3330 3300 14 3332 3332 154 3352 14 3334 3334 3336 3312 14 14 3300 3340 3342 3346 14 3342 3346 3344 3348 14 14 3320 3330 154 100 3352 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 20 FIG. Referring again to the Main Menu navigation bar, if the administratorselects the “DELAYS, CLOSING & DISMISSALS” option, the APPA navigates to the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIof, where the administratormay view, add, change, or delete one of the statuses exhibited (e.g., a delay, closing, dismissal, or change in format to remote) for one of the event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) within the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIincludes one or more regions for exhibiting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides functionality for narrowing or filtering the information exhibited in the second region. For example, the first regionincludes a Country control elementlabeled “Country” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. With the Country control elementthe administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. When activated, the APPA filters the status information exhibited on the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIto include information only for event facilities within the selected country. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionof the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIalso includes a Display Status control elementthat includes tabs for each of the values of statuses for the event facilities including, for example, a DELAYS tab control element, a CLOSINGS tab control element, a REMOTE tab control element, and a DISMISSAL tab control element. As described herein, when the administratorselects or activates one of the tab control elements,,, and, the APPA filters the status information exhibited on the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIto include information only for event facilities having the selected status. For example, as illustrated in, the DELAYS tab control elementis activated by the administratorand, in response, the APPA exhibits within a Delay Status tableof the second regionevent facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, and the like) having events that have a delayed status, as described below. In one embodiment, the first regionfurther includes control elements within a search blockto even further narrow or filter the status information exhibited on the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI. For example, as illustrated in, the administratormay manually input an event facility name in a first search fieldlabeled “Search.” When a value is entered into the first search field, the APPA narrows or filters the status information exhibited in the Delay status tablefor the named event facility. The administratormay also optionally narrow or filter the status information, by manually inputting or selecting a State in a second search fieldlabeled “State.” As shown in, in one embodiment, the second search fieldincludes a drop-down list elementthat, if activated, exhibits a list of States within the selected Country (e.g., the United States as the value of the Country fieldis “USA”), one or all of which that may be selected by the administrator. In one embodiment, the administratormay further optionally narrow or filter the status information displayed in the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIby manually inputting or selecting a date range in a third search fieldlabeled “Date,” which includes a beginning date fieldlabeled “From” and an end date fieldlabeled “To”. In one embodiment, the administratormay manually input the date values for the beginning date fieldand the end date field, e.g., in a day, month, and year (DD/MM/YYYY) format or may select Calendar control elementsand, respectively that, if activated, exhibits a current year calendar (e.g., beginning with a current day), from which a day of the year may be selected by the administrator. Once the administratorhas completed his/her desired criteria for exhibiting the status information (e.g., entered values within one or more of the Display Status control elementand/or search fields), the APPA exhibits the status information for event facilities within the systemmatching the criteria within the Delay status table.

154 3352 3350 3352 3352 3354 3354 3354 14 3354 154 3300 3700 14 14 3354 154 154 14 3352 3300 154 3356 14 3352 3300 3300 3360 3310 14 3352 3300 3370 3310 154 3300 3600 14 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 25 FIG. 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 23 FIG. As noted above, the APPA performs the requested search and exhibits the status information in the status table, shown generally at, within the second region. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the status tableincludes the names of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.), state, date of a status presented (e.g., a delay), and details of the delay status (e.g., time period). In one embodiment, the status tablefurther includes an Actions column, shown generally at, that provides one or more icons for each listed facility for initiating functionality to be performed on one of the listed facilities. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in, the one or more icons include an edit iconA (e.g., a pencil and paper image) and a delete iconB (e.g., a garbage can image). In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the edit iconA for one of the listed event facilities, the APPA closes the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIand invokes an Edit Delays/Closings GUIof, where the administratormay view and edit details of the delay for the event facility, as described below. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the delete iconB for one of the listed event facilities, the APPA deletes the listed delay for the event facility. In one embodiment, prior to completing the delete operation, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to delete the selected delay entry. In one embodiment, illustrated in, if the status tableincludes more entries for event facilities and delay statuses than can be exhibited on one page of the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI, the APPA provides a page navigation elementthat allows the administratorto move between two or more pages of the status tableexhibited on the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI. In one embodiment, the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIincludes a Date and Time element(e.g., included in the first region) that provides the date and time that one of the administratorslast updated the status for the event facilities exhibited within the status table. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIalso includes a ADD DELAYS/CLOSINGS control button(e.g., included in the first region) that, if selected, the APPA closes the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIand invokes an Add Delays/Closings GUIof, where the administratormay add a new occurrence of a delay or a closing of an event facility, as described below.

154 154 3300 3352 3400 14 100 3400 3410 3450 3310 3350 3300 3410 3420 3320 3422 3424 3426 3428 3450 3400 3350 3452 3352 3500 14 100 3500 3510 3550 3310 3410 3350 3450 3300 3400 3510 3520 3320 3420 3522 3524 3528 3526 3550 3500 3350 3450 3552 154 3552 10 14 10 20 FIG. 21 FIG. 21 FIG. 21 FIG. 20 FIG. 21 FIG. 20 FIG. 22 FIG. 22 FIG. 22 FIG. 20 FIG. 21 FIG. 22 FIG. 20 FIG. 21 FIG. It should be appreciated that the APPA exhibits closing, change of format status to remote, and dismissal information in a similar manner as the APPA does on the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIoffor delay status information, with slight variations to the status tableand columns presented therein. For example, as shown in, a Delays, Closings & Dismissal GUIis depicted where the administratormay view, add, change, or delete closing status information for one or more of the event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) within the School DelayZz system. As shown in, the Delays, Closings & Dismissal GUIincludes a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at, each substantially similar to the first regionand the second regionof the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI. In the first regionof, however, the Display Status control elementdiffers from the Display Status control element() as a DELAYS tab control elementis not selected and a CLOSINGS tab control elementis selected. A REMOTE tab control elementand a DISMISSAL tab control elementremain unselected. As shown in, the second regionof the Delays, Closings & Dismissal GUIdiffers from the second region() as a status tableincludes the names of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.), state, date of a status presented (e.g., a closing), and an Actions column. There is no column exhibiting details of the closing status (e.g., time period) as there was for the status table. Similarly, as shown in, a Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIis depicted where the administratormay view, add, change, or delete remote status information for one or more of the event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) within the School DelayZz system. As shown in, the Delays, Closings & Dismissal GUIincludes a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at, each substantially similar to the first regions,and the second regions,of the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIand. In the first regionof, however, the Display Status control elementdiffers from the Display Status control element() and Display Status control element() as a DELAYS tab control element, a CLOSINGS tab control element, and a DISMISSALS tab control elementare not selected and a REMOTE tab control elementis selected. As shown in, the second regionof the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIdiffers from the second regions() and() as a status tableincludes the names of event facilities (e.g., schools and/or school districts), state, date of a status presented (e.g., a remote format), a delay time or notice of no delay time in a DELAYED TIME column, and an ACTIONS column. While not depicted, it should be appreciated that it is within the scope of the present disclosure for the APPA to exhibit a Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI (not shown) for dismissal status information, with slight variations to the status tableand columns presented therein. For example, in one embodiment, a dismissal status table includes columns presenting the names of event facilities (e.g., schools and/or school districts), state, date of a status presented (e.g., a dismissal status), a time or notice of the dismissal time (e.g., early or late, in relation to the originally scheduled dismissal time), and an ACTIONS column permitting editing or deletion of an exhibited dismissal. In one embodiment, described herein, the dismissal features and functions permit one of the event facility administratorsand/or the system administratorto broadcast a message to usersassociated with one or more event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like). For example, an alert or notification message of a situation at or in proximity to the event facility that may impact the originally scheduled daily events at the event facility (e.g., resulting in an early or late dismissal). If any such messaging is enabled for a particular event facility, the message is exhibited in the dismissal status table (not shown).

20 21 22 FIGS.,, and 23 FIG. 18 FIG. 23 FIG. 23 FIG. 3300 3400 3500 3370 3470 3570 3310 3410 3510 154 3300 3400 3500 3600 3200 14 3250 154 3200 3600 3600 14 3600 100 3610 3640 3610 3612 3616 3618 3620 3624 3612 14 3614 14 3616 14 14 3630 3612 3616 14 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3618 3620 3620 3622 3622 3622 3624 14 3624 3618 154 14 10 3616 As shown in, each of the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIs,, and, respectively, include an ADD DELAYS/CLOSINGS control button,, and(e.g., included in the first regions,, and) that, if selected, the APPA closes the corresponding one of the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIs,, andand invokes an Add Delays/Closings GUIof. Similarly, and referring again to the Dashboard GUI(), when the administratorselects the “ADD DELAYS/CLOSING” control button, the APPA closes the Dashboard GUIand invokes the Add Delays/Closings GUIof. In the Add Delays/Closings GUIthe administratormay add a new occurrence of a status change to an event, for example, a delay, a closing, an early or a late dismissal (e.g., a hold over or shelter in place), or a change of format of the event. In one embodiment, the Add Delays/Closings GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for defining the new occurrence of a status change including a date fieldlabeled “DATE”, an event facility fieldlabeled “SELECT SCHOOLS/SCHOOL DISTRICT”, a series of radio control buttons, shown generally at, for characterizing the type of status change, a first delay time fieldlabeled “DELAYED TIME DURATION,” and a second delay time fieldlabeled “CUSTOM DELAYED TIME DURATION.” With reference to the date field, in one embodiment, the administratormay manually input a date value for the change of status to an event, e.g., in a day, month, and year (DD/MM/YYYY) format or may select Calendar control elementthat, if activated, exhibits a current year calendar (e.g., beginning with a current day), from which a day of the year may be selected by the administrator. In the event facility field, in one embodiment, the administratormay manually input an event facility name value in which the new change of status is scheduled to occur. As described below, if the new change of status is to occur at two or more event facilities, the administratormay invoke functionally to propagate the change of status to other event facilities by activating a Select More control button, as described more fully below. With the date and the event facility for the new change of status to occur selected and input into fieldsand, the administratorfurther defines the character of the type of status change by selecting one of the radio control buttons. In one embodiment, a first oneA of the radio control buttonsis labeled “DELAY,” a second oneB is labeled “CLOSING,” a third oneC is labeled “REMOTE,” and a fourth oneD is labeled “DISMISSAL/MESSAGE.” In one embodiment illustrated in, the status change type fieldis a binary choice, e.g., only one of the types radio buttons DELAYA, CLOSINGB, REMOTEC, or DISMISSAL/MESSAGED may be selected, such that when one of the types is selected and enabled, the other three options are deactivated and not selectable so that the new occurrence of the change in status only has one type value. In one embodiment, when the type of status change is one of a delay (e.g., the DELAY radio control buttonA is enabled), a dismissal (e.g., the DISMISSAL/MESSAGE radio control buttonD is enabled), or a change in format (e.g., the REMOTE radio control buttonC is enabled), the first delay time field(e.g., the field labeled DELAYED TIME DURATION) is activated for receiving input data. For example, in one embodiment, the first delay time fieldincludes a dropdown menu control, which presents two or more preset values for a delay in the scheduled start time for the new occurrence of the change in status for the event. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu controlexhibits values of, for example, “60 mins”, “90 mins”, “120 mins”, or “Other”. It should be appreciated that while these four (4) values are described, the present disclosure is not limited to these values and that other preset values may be implemented using the features and functions of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, when the preset value of “Other” is selected within the dropdown men control, the second delay time field(e.g. the field labeled CUSTOM DELAYED TIME DURATION) is activated for receiving input data. Once activated, the administratormay utilize the second delay time fieldto manually input a customized value (e.g., in minutes) for the delay in the scheduled start time for the new occurrence of the change in status for the event. In one embodiment, when the type of status change is one of a dismissal or message (e.g., the DISMISSAL/MESSAGE radio control buttonD is enabled), the APPA presents a Message Text dialog box (not shown) where the system administratormay enter a custom or predefined message (e.g., from a drop-down menu control element, not shown) to be broadcast to usersassociated with the event facility (specified in field).

14 3642 3640 3600 14 3644 3642 3644 3600 3300 3400 3500 3200 3600 14 3600 3630 3610 3650 154 3650 3600 23 FIG. 20 FIG. 21 FIG. 22 FIG. 18 FIG. 23 FIG. 24 FIG. To create the new occurrence of the specified change of status for the specified event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like), the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonin the second regionof the Add Delays/Closings GUIof. Alternatively, the administratorends the creation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Add Delays/Closings GUIand invokes or reactivates the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIs(),(), and(), or the Dashboard GUI() that invoked the Add Delays/Closings GUIof. As noted above, in one embodiment, the administratormay invoke functionally to propagate the same change of status entered on the Add Delays/Closings GUIfor the specified event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like) to other event facilities by activating a Select More control buttonof the first regionto invoke a Select Schools/School Districts dialog box. In one embodiment, as illustrated on, the School DelayZz APPA exhibits the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxover the Add Delays/Closings GUI.

3650 3650 3652 3654 100 14 3652 3656 3654 14 3654 3652 3658 14 3654 3652 3656 3654 3656 3656 3654 3654 3650 3660 14 3654 3652 3650 3670 3680 3654 3652 14 3682 3682 154 3652 3654 3652 14 3654 3652 3684 3684 3686 14 3654 3650 14 3690 14 3692 3690 3692 3650 3600 24 FIG. 24 FIG. 24 FIG. 24 FIG. 23 FIG. In one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxprovides for propagating the same change of status to one or more other event facilities. For example, in one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxprovides a table or list, shown generally at, of the names of event facilities(e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) within the School DelayZz systemfor the administratorto review and select. In one embodiment, the listincludes a check box control elementwith each one of the listed event facilities, where the administratormay select one or more individual ones of the event facilitieslisted to receive the same change of status. In one embodiment, the listalso includes a check box control elementwhere the administratormay select all of the event facilitieswithin the listto receive the same change of status. In one embodiment, one or more of the check box control elementscorresponding individually to event facilitiesthat may be selected, e.g., filled, to enable, or deselected, e.g., unfilled, to disable the propagation operation for that individual event facility. For example, as shown in, check boxesA andB are selected or enabled to propagate a change of status to two event facilities, a facilityA labeled “Alachua County Public Schools” and a facilityB labeled “Bessemer City”. As shown in, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxmay include a scroll bar control elementwhich, when activated, allows the administratorto visually exhibits additional values of event facilitiesbeyond what is currently exhibited within the borders of the table or listof facilities. In one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxincludes a regionincluding a search block, shown generally at, to narrow or filter within, or to add additional the event facilitiesto the list. For example, as illustrated in, the administratormay optionally manually input an event facility name in a first search field. When a value is entered into the first search field, the APPA narrows or filters the listor adds the specified event facilitiesto the event facilities exhibited in the listto match the named event facility. The administratormay also optionally narrow or filter within, or to add additional the event facilities, to the listby manually inputting or selecting a State in a second search fieldlabeled “STATE”. As shown in, in one embodiment, the second search fieldincludes a drop-down list elementthat, if activated, exhibits a list of States within, e.g., the United States, one or all of which that may be selected by the administrator. To implement or propagate the change of status to the additional one or more event facilitiesspecified in the Select Schools/School Districts dialog box, the administratorselects a “DONE” control button. Alternatively, the administratormay end the propagation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxand invokes or reactivates the Add Delays/Closings GUI().

20 21 22 FIGS.,, and 25 FIG. 20 FIG. 25 FIG. 23 FIG. 25 FIG. 20 FIG. 25 FIG. 25 FIG. 25 FIG. 20 FIG. 21 FIG. 22 FIG. 25 FIG. 3300 3400 3500 3352 3452 3552 3354 3454 3554 3354 3454 3554 3700 14 3354 154 3700 3700 3600 3700 3354 3700 100 3710 3740 3710 3712 3716 3718 3720 3724 154 3712 3716 3718 3720 3724 14 3714 3712 3600 14 3742 3780 3700 14 3744 3742 3744 3700 3300 3400 3500 3600 As shown in, each of the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIs,, and, respectively, includes within the status tables,, and, respectively, Actions columns,, and. Each of the Actions columns include the edit iconsA,A, andA, respectively, that when selected invoke the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof, where the administratormay view and edit details of the change of status for the event facility corresponding to the selected edit icon. For example, when the edit iconA () for the event facility “Bedford Public Schools” is selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof. In one embodiment, as shown by comparingto, the Edit Delays/Closings GUIincludes substantially the same fields and functionality of the Add Delays/Closings GUI. However, when invoked, the Edit Delays/Closings GUIexhibits current values of the status change for the selected event facility, e.g., the Bedford Public Schools, selected as described above, when the edit iconA () is selected. As shown in, the Edit Delays/Closings GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for viewing and editing (e.g., modifying) the status change exhibited including a date fieldlabeled “DATE”, an event facility fieldlabeled “SELECT SCHOOLS/SCHOOL DISTRICT”, a series of radio control buttons, shown generally at, for characterizing the type of status change, a first delay time fieldlabeled “DELAYED TIME DURATION,” and a second delay time fieldlabeled “CUSTOM DELAYED TIME DURATION.” As shown in, the APPA prefills these fields,,,, andwith the values for the Bedford Public Schools change of status. Once exhibited, the administratormay change values presented within these fields using similar functionality (e.g., a calendar control element, within the date field) as that employed within the Add Delays/Closings GUI, as described above. To save any modification made to the change of status for the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonin the second regionof the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof. Alternatively, the administratorends the edit operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Edit Delays/Closings GUIand invokes or reactivates the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIs(),(), and() that invoked the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof.

3210 14 3216 154 3800 14 3800 100 3810 3850 3810 3810 3812 3814 3812 14 100 154 3800 3814 3810 3820 3822 3824 3828 3822 14 3852 3850 3822 154 14 3826 3824 3824 14 14 154 3858 3854 3850 14 3829 3828 3829 3812 14 14 3822 3824 3828 3820 154 3852 3850 26 FIG. 26 FIG. 26 FIG. 26 FIG. Referring again to the Main Menu navigation bar, if the administratorselects the “SCHOOLS/SCHOOL DISTRICTS” option, the APPA navigates to the Schools/School Districts GUIofwhere the administratormay view and manage (e.g., change or delete) detailed information for an existing event facility or invoke functionality to add a new event facility. In one embodiment, the Schools/School Districts GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for searching or filtering the detailed information for an existing facility or for initiating an operation to add a new event facility or edit an existing event facility. For example, the first regionincludes a Country control elementlabeled “Country” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. With the Country control elementthe administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. When activated, the APPA filters the event facility information exhibited on the Schools/School Districts GUIto include information only for event facilities within the selected country. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a search or filter input box, which includes a keyword fieldlabeled “Search”, a status fieldlabeled “Status”, and a state fieldlabeled “State.” In the keyword field, the administratormay manually input an event facility name or a unique code for a facility to locate or filter information exhibited within an event facility table, shown generally at, within the second region, and described in detail below. When a value is entered into the keyword field, the APPA narrows or filters the event facility information exhibited for the named event facility or facility have the matching unique code. As shown in, the administratormay also optionally narrow or filter the event facility information, by manually inputting or selecting (e.g., via a drop-down menu control) a status in the status field. In one embodiment, the status fieldrefers to a validation status of the event facility and may include values of, for example, a “Pending” status or a “Verified” status. In one embodiment, as described herein, event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, and the like) added by the School Administrators (described below) and verified by the School DelayZz administratorare considered as a “Verified” status, while facilities added by the School Administrator and not yet verified by the School DelayZz Administratorare considered as “Pending” status. In one embodiment, the APPA identifies the one or more event facilities each having a Verified status with a check iconwithin the tableexhibited in the second region. As shown in, in one embodiment, the administratormay also optionally narrow or filter the event facility information, by manually inputting or selecting (e.g., via a drop-down menu control) a state in the state field. In one embodiment, the state drop-down menu control, if activated, exhibits a list of States within the specified country (e.g., value of the country fieldof the USA), one or all of which that may be selected by the administrator. As noted above, if the administratorenters a value in one of the fields,,of the search or filter input box, the APPA narrows or filters the event facility information exhibited in the event facility tableof the second region.

154 3852 3852 100 100 3854 3854 3854 14 3854 154 3800 4000 4100 14 3854 4000 14 154 3800 4000 4100 14 3854 154 154 14 3852 3800 154 3856 14 3852 3800 3800 3860 3810 14 3852 3800 3870 3810 154 3800 3900 14 26 FIG. 26 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 28 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 26 FIG. 26 FIG. 27 FIG. In one embodiment, the APPA performs the requested operation to exhibit event facility information in the event facility table. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the tableincludes columns exhibiting, for example, a unique code for the event facilities listed, the names of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.), state, number of registered users within the systemassociated with the event facility, one or more authorized users for the event facility (e.g., persons being able to implement a change of status for the facility), a date of enrollment of the facility with the School DelayZz system, if applicable, a date the facility was verified, and an Actions column. In one embodiment, the Actions column, shown generally at, includes one or more icons for each listed facility for initiating functionality to be performed on one of the listed facilities. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in, the one or more icons include an edit iconA (e.g., a pencil and paper image) and a delete iconB (e.g., a garbage can image). In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the edit iconA for one of the listed event facilities (e.g., Arlington Central School District), the APPA closes the Schools/School Districts GUIand invokes an Edit School GUIoffor a selected non-verified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like) or an Edit School GUIoffor a selected verified event facility, where the administratormay view and edit details of the corresponding event facility (e.g., sinceA is selected, the Edit School District GUIofis invoked), as described below. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects (e.g., double clicks with an input device such as a mouse) one of the listed event facilities by name, the APPA closes the Schools/School Districts GUIand invokes either the Edit School GUIoffor a selected non-verified event facility or the Edit School GUIoffor the selected verified event facility. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the delete iconB for one of the listed event facilities, the APPA deletes the listed event facility. In one embodiment, prior to completing the delete operation, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to delete the selected event facility. In one embodiment, illustrated in, if the event facilities tableincludes more entries for event facilities that can be exhibited on one page of the Schools/School Districts GUI, the APPA provides a page navigation elementthat allows the administratorto move between two or more pages of the facilities tableexhibited on the Schools/School Districts GUI. In one embodiment, the Schools/School Districts GUIincludes a Date and Time element(e.g., included in the first region) that provides the date and time that one of the administratorslast updated the list of event facilities exhibited within the event facilities table. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Schools/School Districts GUIalso includes an ADD NEW control button(e.g., included in the first region) that, if selected, the APPA closes the Schools/School Districts GUIand invokes an Add New GUIof, where the administratormay add a new event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like), as described below.

27 FIG. 27 FIG. 3900 100 3910 3950 3910 3910 3912 3914 3916 3918 3920 3922 3920 14 100 3920 3910 3924 3926 3910 3928 3930 3910 3932 3934 3910 3936 3938 154 3920 3924 14 3910 3912 3914 3918 3920 3924 3928 3930 3932 3934 3936 3910 3940 100 3940 3940 14 3942 100 As shown in, the Add New GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto add a new event facility, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for adding a new event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like) and information describing the same. For example, the first regionincludes a name fieldlabeled “SCHOOL/SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME,” an event facility type fieldlabeled “SCHOOL TYPE” and that includes a drop-down list control element, an event code fieldlabeled “SCHOOL CODE,” and a Country control elementlabeled “COUNTRY” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. As noted previously with related fields, with the Country control elementthe administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a state fieldlabeled “STATE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available states within the selected country for selection. The first regionalso includes street address fieldsandlabeled “ADDRESS 1” and “ADDRESS 2”, respectively. The first regionalso includes a city fieldlabeled “LOCATION/CITY” and a zip code fieldlabeled “ZIP CODE”. The first regionfurther includes a time zone fieldlabeled “TIME ZONE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementfor selecting applicable time zones. In one embodiment, the APPA automatically detects and enters the applicable time zone from the values input into the Country control elementand the state field. In one embodiment, the automatically entered time zone may be overwritten (e.g., manually changed) by the administrator. In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,,,,,,,, and) are “required” entries (e.g., entries that are required to have a non-blank or null value). In one embodiment, the first regionmay also include a verification document fieldlabeled “VERIFICATION DOCUMENT.” In one embodiment, entry of a new event facility into the School DelayZz systemrequires evidence of approval by the event facility. If so required, the verification document fieldis provided for submission of such a verification document. In one embodiment, entry of text within the fieldinitiates a browser operation (as is known in the art) to locate a document corresponding to the text entered within a file directory accessible by the administrator. Once located, an upload control elementlabeled “UPLOAD” may be invoked to retrieve the document from the specified location with the file directory for submission to the School DelayZz system.

3950 3900 3950 3952 3954 3956 3958 3960 3962 3958 154 100 100 14 14 3970 3900 154 14 100 154 164 160 165 167 169 14 3972 3970 3972 3900 3800 27 FIG. 27 FIG. 27 FIG. 26 FIG. In one embodiment, the second regionof the Add New GUIincludes fields for identifying one or more authorized users (e.g., an administrator for the event facility, as described below) associated with the newly added event facility. For example, as shown in, the second region, labeled “Authorized User Details,” includes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME”, a second name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME”, a position fieldlabeled “POSITION/TITLE” and that includes a drop-down menu control element, a phone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL”. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu control elementincludes values of, for example, “School Administrator,” “PTO/School Club,” or “Other.” In one embodiment, the adding of an authorized user for a particular event facility is an optional process. If added, in one embodiment, the APPA generates an electronic message to the authorized user inviting them to the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, the electronic message includes a link to login to the systemand to set up an account by creating login credentials, as described herein. If the authorized user is not added or does not establish an account within, for example, a predefined time period, responsibility for managing details of the new event facility remains with the School DelayZz administrator. To create the newly specified event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like), the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonof the Add New GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to add the new event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA adds a new entry to the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage deviceand populates the related fields, e.g., the event facility name field, the status field, and the authorized user (e.g., Authorized Notifier) field. Alternatively, the administratorends the creation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Add New GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Schools/School Districts GUIof.

3800 3800 3852 3854 154 4000 4100 14 4000 4100 4000 3854 4100 3854 26 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 26 FIG. 26 FIG. Referring again to the Schools/School Districts GUIof, as shown, the Schools/School Districts GUIincludes the list of event facilities exhibited within the event facilities tablewith each listed event facility having an Actions column that includes the edit icon, e.g., the edit iconA. When either the name of the event facility or the edit icon is selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes one of an Edit School GUIofor an Edit School GUIof, where the administratormay view and edit details of the event facility (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, and the like) corresponding to the selected event facility name or edit icon. It should be appreciated that the Edit School GUI() and the Edit School GUI() are substantially similar and differ in that the Edit School Name GUIis invoked when the event facility selected (e.g., name or edit icon corresponding thereto) is a non-verified event facility such as, for example, an “Arlington Central School District” facility selected with edit iconA of, and that the Edit School Name GUIis invoked when the event facility selected is a verified event facility such as, for example, a “Bessemer Public Schools” facility selected with the edit iconC of.

27 FIG. 28 29 FIGS.and 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 27 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 28 FIG. 28 FIG. 4000 4100 3900 4000 4100 4000 100 4010 4050 4080 4010 4010 4012 4014 4016 4018 4020 4022 4020 14 100 4020 4010 4024 4026 4010 4028 4030 4010 4032 4034 4010 4036 4038 154 4020 4024 14 4010 4012 4014 4020 4024 4028 4030 4032 4034 4036 4018 In one embodiment, as shown by comparingto, the Edit School GUI() and the Edit School GUI() include substantially the same fields and functionality of the Add New GUI(). However, when invoked, the Edit School GUI() and the Edit School GUI() exhibit current values for the selected event facility. For example, and as shown in, the Edit School GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto edit a non-verified event facility, for example, a first region shown generally at, a second region shown generally at, and a third region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for editing the non-verified event facility (e.g., school, school district, user group, or the like) and information describing the same. For example, the first regionincludes a name fieldlabeled “SCHOOL/SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME,” an event facility type fieldlabeled “SCHOOL TYPE” and that includes a drop-down list control element, an event code fieldlabeled “SCHOOL CODE,” and a Country control elementlabeled “Country” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. As noted previously with related fields, with the Country control elementthe administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a state fieldlabeled “State” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available states within the selected country for selection. The first regionalso includes street address fieldsandlabeled “ADDRESS 1” and “ADDRESS 2”, respectively. The first regionalso includes a city fieldlabeled “LOCATION/CITY” and a zip code fieldlabeled “ZIP CODE”. The first regionfurther includes a time zone fieldlabeled “TIME ZONE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementfor selecting applicable time zones. In one embodiment, the APPA automatically detects and enters the applicable time zone from the values input into the Country control elementand the state field. In one embodiment, the automatically entered time zone may be overwritten (e.g., changed) by the administrator. In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,,,,,,, and) are required entries and the event code fieldis an optional entry.

4010 4040 100 100 4040 4040 14 4042 100 4044 In one embodiment, the first regionmay also include a verification document fieldlabeled “VERIFICATION DOCUMENT.” In one embodiment, as noted above when adding a new event facility into the School DelayZz system, the systemrequires evidence of approval by the event facility. If it is required or desired to remove and to add a new verification document, the verification document fieldis provided for submission of such a new verification document. In one embodiment, entry of text within the fieldinitiates a browser operation (as is known in the art) to locate a document corresponding to the text entered within a file directory accessible by the administrator. Once located, an upload control elementlabeled “UPLOAD” may be invoked to retrieve the document from the specified location with the file directory for submission to the School DelayZz system. An iconis exhibited once the uploaded document is loaded to permit review of the verification document, as needed or desired.

4050 4000 4050 4052 4054 4056 4058 4060 4062 4058 4050 100 14 28 FIG. In one embodiment, the second regionof the Edit School Name GUIincludes fields for exhibiting current ones of persons identified as the one or more authorized users (e.g., an administrator for the event facility, as described below) associated with the event facility. For example, as shown in, the second regionincludes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME”, a second or last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME”, a position fieldlabeled “POSITION/TITLE” and that includes a drop-down menu control element, a phone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL”. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu control elementincludes values of, for example, “School Administrator,” “PTO/School Club,” or “Other.” In one embodiment, the adding of an authorized user for a particular event facility is an optional process. Accordingly, the fields within the second regionmay not have current values for every event facility within the School DelayZz system. As also noted above, if the authorized user is not added or does not establish an account, responsibility for managing details of the new event facility remains with the School DelayZz administrator.

14 4070 4000 154 14 100 154 164 160 165 167 169 4070 14 100 14 4072 4070 4072 4000 3800 4000 4078 4010 100 28 FIG. 28 FIG. 26 FIG. 28 FIG. To save the edits made to the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), the administratorselects a “VERIFY” control buttonof the Edit School Name GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to edit the event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the selected facility in the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage device(e.g., the event facility name field, the status field, and authorized user (e.g., Authorized Notifier) field, as appropriate). Additionally, by selecting the Verify Control button, the administratorinitiates a verification process whereby the specified event facility may be verified for full access to the School DelayZz system. Alternatively, the administratorends the edit operation by selecting a “CANCEL” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Verify control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Edit School Name GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Schools/School Districts GUIof. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Edit School Name GUIincludes a Date element(e.g., included in the first region) that provides the date that the selected event facility signed up to participate in the School DelayZz system.

4080 4000 4082 4000 4000 14 4082 4084 4088 14 4084 4088 4086 14 14 4082 154 4000 4090 4080 154 4000 3600 28 FIG. 23 FIG. In one embodiment, the third regionof the Edit School Name GUIincludes current status changes (e.g., a delay, closing, or change of format) for the exhibited event facility, and search or filter fieldfor the same. However, as each of the event facilities exhibited in the Edit School Name GUIare not verified, it is anticipated that no status change information is exhibited. As exceptions may exist, the Edit School Name GUIis configured to support any such data. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the administratormay optionally narrow or filter the change of status information displayed for the non-verified event facility by manually inputting or selecting a date range in the search fieldlabeled “DATE”, which includes a beginning date fieldlabeled “From” and an end date fieldlabeled “To”. In one embodiment, the administratormay manually input the date values for the beginning date fieldand the end date field, e.g., in a day, month, and year (DD/MM/YYYY) format or may select Calendar control elementthat, if activated, exhibits a current year calendar (e.g., beginning with a current day), from which a day of the year may be selected by the administrator. Once the administratorhas completed his/her desired criteria for exhibiting the status information (e.g., entered values within date search field), the APPA exhibits the status information for non-verified event facility being edited matching the criteria, if applicable. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Edit School Name GUIincludes an ADD DELAYS/CLOSINGS control buttonin the third regionthat, if selected, the APPA closes the Edit School Name GUIand invokes the Add Delays/Closings GUIof.

4100 4110 4150 4180 4000 4010 4050 4080 4180 4100 154 4192 4110 4070 4000 4170 4100 4170 154 14 100 154 164 160 165 167 169 4110 4100 4178 100 29 FIG. 28 FIG. 28 FIG. 29 FIG. 29 FIG. As noted above, the Edit School Name GUIofincludes substantially the same fields within its regions,, and, as the Edit School Name GUIofdoes within its regions,, and, except that in the third regionof the Edit School Name GUIthe School DelayZz APPA exhibits a status information tableincluding current status changes (e.g., a delay, closing, or change of format) for the exhibited, verified event facility. Additionally, in the first region, as the exhibited event facility is already verified, the VERIFY control buttonof the Edit School Name GUI() is replaced by a “SAVE” control buttonon the Edit School Name GUI(). When the SAVE control buttonis selected, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to edit the verified event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the selected facility in the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage device(e.g., the event facility name field, the status field, and the authorized user (e.g., Authorized Notifier) field, as appropriate). Also, in the first regionof, the Edit School Name GUIincludes a Date elementthat provides the date that the selected event facility was verified to participate in the School DelayZz system.

3210 14 3218 154 4200 14 4200 100 4210 4250 3218 154 100 4210 4220 4220 4230 4230 4230 14 4230 154 4200 4400 14 4230 14 30 FIG. 30 FIG. 30 FIG. 32 FIG. Referring again to the Main Menu navigation bar, if the administratorselects the “ADMINS” option, the APPA navigates to the Admins GUIofwhere the School DelayZz administratormay view and manage (add, modify, or delete) co-administrators, in one embodiment, having a same level of access authority or less authority. In one embodiment, the Admins GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, when the ADMINS optionis invoked, the APPA exhibits a list of administrators of the School DelayZz systemwithin the first regionin an administrators table shown generally at. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the administrator tableincludes columns exhibiting, for example, each administrator's first name, last name, electronic mail (email) address, and an Actions column. In one embodiment, the Actions column, shown generally at, includes one or more icons for each listed facility for initiating functionality to be performed on one of the listed administrators. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in, the one or more icons include an edit iconA (e.g., a pencil and paper image) and a delete iconB (e.g., a garbage can image). In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the edit iconA for one of the listed administrators (e.g., Claire M-Inventor), the APPA closes the Admins GUIand invokes an Edit Admin GUIoffor the selected administrator(e.g., Claire M-Inventor, as the edit iconA is selected), where the administratormay view and edit details of the corresponding administrator, as described below.

14 14 154 4200 4400 14 4230 154 14 100 154 14 4200 4252 4250 154 4200 4300 14 32 FIG. 30 FIG. 31 FIG. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects (e.g., double clicks with an input device such as a mouse) one of the listed administratorsby name, the APPA also closes the Admins GUIand invokes the Edit Admin GUIoffor a selected administrator. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the delete iconB for one of the listed administrators, the APPA deletes the listed administratorfrom the system. In one embodiment, prior to completing the delete operation, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to delete the selected administrator. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Admins GUIalso includes an ADD NEW control button(e.g., included in the second region) that, if selected, the APPA closes the Admins GUIand invokes an Add New GUIof, where the administratormay add a new administrator, as described below.

31 FIG. 31 FIG. 31 FIG. 30 FIG. 4300 100 14 4310 4350 4310 4310 4312 4314 4316 4318 4312 4314 4318 4310 4316 14 4352 4300 154 14 14 100 154 160 14 4354 4352 4354 4300 4200 In one embodiment, as illustrated in, the Add New GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto add a new one of the administrators, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for adding a new administrator and information identifying the same. For example, the first regionincludes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME,” a last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME,” a telephone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL.” In one embodiment, the fields,, andof the first regionare required entries and fieldis an optional entry. To create the newly specified administrator, the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonof the Add New GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to add the new one of the administratorsand his/her related identifying information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA adds a new entry for the administrator in a list of School DelayZz administrators (not shown) within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the creation operation for the proposed new administrator by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Add New GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Admins GUIof.

32 FIG. 31 FIG. 32 FIG. 31 FIG. 32 FIG. 32 FIG. 32 FIG. 30 FIG. 32 FIG. 32 FIG. 30 FIG. 4400 4300 4400 14 4400 100 14 4410 4450 4410 4410 4412 4414 4416 4418 4412 4414 4418 4410 4416 4400 4230 4400 14 14 4452 4400 154 14 14 100 154 160 14 4454 4452 4454 4400 4200 In one embodiment, as shown by comparingto, the Edit Admin GUI() includes substantially the same fields and functionality as the Add New GUI(). However, when invoked, the Edit Admin GUI() exhibits current values for the selected one of the existing administrators. For example, and as shown in, the Edit Admin GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto edit one of the existing administrators, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for editing the existing administrator and information identifying the same. For example, the first regionincludes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME,” a last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME,” a telephone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL.” In one embodiment, the fields,, andof the first regionare required entries and the fieldin an optional entry. When invoked, the current values of these fields are exhibited on the Edit Admin GUI, for example,exhibits values for administrator “Claire M-Inventor” as if edit iconA () was selected to invoke the Edit Admin GUI. With these values exhibited, the administratormay selectively review and edit these fields. To save the newly edited information for the selected administrator, the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonof the Edit Admin GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to revise and save the changes to one of the administratorsand his/her related identifying information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the administrator in the list of School DelayZz administrators (not shown) within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the editing operation for the administrator by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Edit Admin GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Admins GUIof.

3200 14 3280 154 3200 4500 4500 14 4500 100 100 4510 4550 4510 4510 4512 4514 4516 4518 4510 4512 4514 4516 4518 4500 14 4510 4520 14 4520 154 4530 4500 14 4532 4534 14 1200 14 4536 4530 4536 154 160 14 4538 4530 4536 4538 4530 4500 19 FIG. 33 FIG. 33 FIG. 34 FIG. 5 FIG. 34 FIG. 34 FIG. 33 FIG. Referring again to the Dashboard GUIof, if the administratorselects the PROFILE control elementthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard GUIand navigates to the Profile GUI, illustrated in. In the Profile GUIone of the School DelayZz administratorsmay view and modify current values within his/her own personal identifying information. For example, as shown in, the Profile GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto view and edit existing values within his/her own profile on the system, for example, within a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for editing the administrator's own identifying information. For example, the first regionincludes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME,” a last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME,” a telephone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL.” In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,, and) are required entries. With the current values of these fields exhibited on the Profile GUI, the administratormay selectively review and edit these fields. In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a change password textual navigation control elementfor the administratorto change his/her password. When the change password textual navigation control elementis selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes a Change Password Dialog Boxon the Profile GUI, as illustrated in, in which the administratorenters his/her current password in a current password fieldlabeled “Current Password” and a new password in a new password fieldlabeled “New Password.” Once the administratorenters a new password in an approved format (e.g., see password requirements included in the Sign Up GUIof), the administratorselects a “Done” control buttonof the Change Password Dialog Boxof. Once the Done Control buttonis selected, the School DelayZz APPA saves the new password within the administrator's profile in the list of School DelayZz administrators (not shown) within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the change password operation by selecting a “Cancel” control buttonon the Change Password Dialog Box. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Change Password Dialog Box() and invokes or reactivates the Profile GUIof.

14 4552 4500 154 14 100 154 14 160 14 4554 4552 4554 4500 4200 33 FIG. 33 FIG. 30 FIG. To save the newly edited information within the administrator's own profile, the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonof the Profile GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to revise and save the changes to his/her own profile to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the administratorwithin the list of School DelayZz administrators (not shown) within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the editing operation for his/her own profile by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Profile GUI() and invokes or reactivates the GUI that initiated the action or, alternatively, invokes or reactivates the Admins GUIof.

10 120 100 165 14 150 100 3000 100 165 100 120 100 100 124 100 150 154 160 160 As noted above, the users(e.g., operators of the client/user devices) of the systemmay include attendees or participants of the event being conducted at one of the event facilities but also others including, for example, persons picking up or dropping off the attendees of the event, as well as administrators of one or more of the event facilities(e.g., school, school district, or the like). Similar to the one or more of the administrators(e.g., operators of the server) of the School DelayZz event notification and messaging systemthat may access the GUIsto execute features and functionality of the system, as described herein, administrators of one or more of the event facilitiesmay access the School DelayZz systemby navigating one of the client/user devicesto a URL for website access to the system. In one embodiment, in this website access to the system, the APPA may cooperate with features and functions of the systemhosted on the server(e.g., modules of APPA) and/or stored within the data storage device(e.g., modules of APPA).

35 FIG. 35 FIG. 17 FIG. 10 100 124 5000 5000 10 10 5010 5012 5014 5016 5018 5020 5022 5022 5024 5000 10 5022 5022 5024 5022 5016 5014 5010 5012 5014 5018 5020 5022 5020 5022 100 5000 5030 5000 10 3100 14 As shown in, one of the School DelayZz event facility administratorsnavigates to the URL for the School DelayZz event notification and messaging systemand is presented by the School DelayZz APPA with a Create Account GUI. In the Create Account GUI, the event facility administratorenters his/her personal identification details as well as the details for the event facility for which they are responsible. For example, as illustrated inthe event facility administratorenters his/her first name in a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME,” his/her last name in a last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME,” his/her position or title in a position fieldlabeled “POSITION/TITLE” and that includes a drop-down menu control element, his/her telephone number at the event facility in a telephone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” his/her electronic mail address in an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL,” and a password in a password fieldlabeled “PASSWORD” and that includes a selectable icon to, for example, a reveal, unblock, or unconceal a value within the password fieldincluding an “Eye” icon (not shown) and, alternatively, obfuscate, block, or conceal the value within the password field depicted with an “Eye with Slash” icon. As is known in the art, the Create Account GUIallows the event facility administratorto toggle between viewing the value in the password field(e.g., when the Eye icon is exhibited) and to conceal the value in the password field(e.g., when the Eye with Slash iconis exhibited). In one embodiment, the default for the password fieldis to have its value obfuscated or concealed. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu control elementof the position fieldincludes values of, for example, “School Administrator,” “PTO/School Club,” or “Other.” In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields (e.g., fields,,,,, and) are required entries. In one embodiment, the values of the electronic mail fieldand the password fieldare the event facility administrator's login credentials for the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, the Create Account GUIalso includes a navigational control elementlabeled “ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? LOGIN.” If selected, the Create Account GUIis ended, and the event facility administratoris provided a Login GUI (not shown) substantially similar to the Login GUIoffor the School DelayZz administrator.

5000 5040 100 124 5100 10 5100 100 5110 5110 5110 5112 5114 5116 5118 5120 5122 5122 10 100 5122 5110 5124 5126 5110 5128 5130 5110 5132 5134 5110 5136 5138 124 5120 5124 10 5010 5112 5114 5118 5120 5124 5128 5130 5132 5134 5136 5110 5140 100 5140 5140 10 5142 100 35 FIG. 36 FIG. 36 FIG. 36 FIG. In one embodiment, the Create Account GUI() also includes a navigational control elementlabeled “NEXT” to continuing entering values to create an account with the system. When selected, the APPA invokes a second step in the create account process where a Create Account—School Details GUIofis exhibited to the event facility administrator. As shown in, the Create Account—School Details GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto add a new event facility, for example, a first region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for adding a new event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like) and information describing the same. For example, the first regionincludes a name fieldlabeled “SCHOOL/SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME,” an event facility type fieldlabeled “SCHOOL TYPE” and that includes a drop-down list control element, an event code fieldlabeled “SCHOOL CODE,” and a Country control elementlabeled “COUNTRY” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. As noted previously with related fields, with the Country drop-down control elementthe event facility administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a state fieldlabeled “STATE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available states within the selected country for selection. The first regionalso includes street address fieldsandlabeled “ADDRESS 1” and “ADDRESS 2”, respectively. The first regionalso includes a city fieldlabeled “LOCATION/CITY” and a zip code fieldlabeled “ZIP CODE”. The first regionfurther includes a time zone fieldlabeled “TIME ZONE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementfor selecting applicable time zones. In one embodiment, the APPA automatically detects and enters the applicable time zone derived from the values input into the Country fieldand the state field. In one embodiment, the automatically entered time zone may be overwritten (e.g., manually changed) by the event facility administrator. In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,,,,,,,, and) are required entries. In one embodiment, the first regionmay also include a verification document fieldlabeled “VERIFICATION DOCUMENT.” In one embodiment, entry of a new event facility into the School DelayZz systemrequires evidence of approval by the event facility. If so required, the verification document fieldis provided for submission of such a verification document. In one embodiment, entry of text within the fieldinitiates a browser operation (as is known in the art) to locate a document corresponding to the text entered within a file directory accessible by the event facility administrator. Once located, an upload control elementlabeled “UPLOAD” may be invoked to retrieve the document from the specified location with the file directory for submission to the School DelayZz system.

5110 5100 5150 10 100 5152 124 100 5150 100 10 5160 5100 124 10 100 10 10 100 124 164 160 14 14 124 14 100 10 100 5100 5170 5100 10 3100 14 5160 5100 36 FIG. 17 FIG. 36 FIG. In one embodiment, the first regionof the Create Account—School Details GUIfurther includes a check box control elementlabeled “I AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS”, wherein the event facility administratorindicates the facility's approve of terms and conditions for use and participation in the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, the “TERM AND CONDITIONS” portion of the label is a textual navigation control elementthat, when selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes documentation or a webpage exhibiting the terms and conditions for use and participation in the School DelayZz systemto the facility administrator for his/her review and, if desired, printing. In one embodiment, activation of the check box control elementis required prior to the event facility to become active within the School DelayZz system. To create the newly specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), the event facility administratorselects a “SIGN UP” control buttonof the Create Account—School Details GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the event facility administratorconfirms his/her instruction to add the new event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the event facility administratorreceives a “successfully added” message (not shown) informing the administratorthat the event facility has been added to the systemand awaits review and verification prior to full admission in an “Active Status.” In one embodiment, the confirmation of the addition also triggers the School DelayZz APPA to add a new entry to the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage device, to populate the related fields, and to trigger a message to one of the School DelayZz administratorsnotifying the administratorthat a new event facility has been added, for example, in a “Pending Status.” The APPA also requests that one of the administratorsreviews of the event facility details and provide verification for activation with the School DelayZz system. Once verified, the new event facility is activated, and the event facility administratoris notified that he/she may login to the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, each of the above-described notification messages is provided via an electronic mail message. In one embodiment, the Create Account—School Details GUIalso includes a navigational control elementlabeled “ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT? LOGIN.” If selected, the Create Account GUIis ended, and the event facility administratoris provided a Login GUI (not shown) substantially similar to the Login GUIoffor the School DelayZz administrator. In one embodiment, selecting the SIGN UP control buttoncloses the Create Account—School Details GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Login GUI.

14 10 10 124 10 100 124 5200 10 5200 5800 124 10 5200 5210 5200 5800 5212 10 5210 5200 5214 5500 5210 10 3210 14 5210 3300 10 124 100 10 3370 124 3600 10 14 100 37 FIG. 37 FIG. 37 FIG. 41 FIG. 20 FIG. 20 FIG. 23 FIG. Once the School DelayZz administratorhas verified the new event facility, the event facility administratormay enter his/her login credentials (e.g., email address and password). In one embodiment, once the event facility administratorhas entered their login credentials and the APPA has validated the administrator's login credentials to ensure that the administratoris authorized to access the School DelayZz system, the APPA exhibits a Dashboard—School Name GUIofto the event facility administrator. In one embodiment, each of the GUIstodescribed below and exhibited by the School DelayZz APPA to the one or more event facility administrators, for example the Dashboard—School Name GUIof, may include a Main Menu navigation bar, which may be selected to navigate through the GUIsto. For example, a “DASHBOARD” optionmay be selected (e.g., the administratordouble clicks the element with an input device such as a mouse) on the Main Menu navigation barto navigate to the Dashboard—School Name GUIofor a “SCHOOLS” optionmay be selected to navigate to a Schools GUIof. It should be appreciated that, while not shown, it is within the scope of the present disclosure for the Main Menu navigation barfor the event facility administratorto include other options such as, for example, a “DELAYS, CLOSING & DISMISSALS” option similar to the Main Menu navigation barfor the system administrator, as described above. In one embodiment, the DELAYS, CLOSING & DISMISSALS option for the Main Menu navigation barmay invokes a Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI (not shown), substantially similar to the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUIof, where the event facility administratormay utilize the APPA to view, add, change, or delete one of the statuses exhibited (e.g., a delay, closing, dismissal, or change in format to remote) for the event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, etc.) that he/she manages within the School DelayZz system. In one embodiment, the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI (not shown) for the event facility administratorincludes an ADD DELAYS/CLOSINGS control button (e.g., similar to the ADD DELAYS/CLOSINGS control buttonof) that, if selected, the APPA closes the Delays, Closings & Dismissals GUI (not shown) and invokes an Add Delays/Closings GUI (not shown) (e.g., similar to the Add Delays/Closings GUIof), where the event facility administratormay add a new occurrence of a delay, a closing, or a dismissal of an event facility, as described with reference to features and functionality described above and provided to the system administratorby the system.

5200 100 5220 5260 10 5220 10 5220 5222 5224 5226 5228 5230 5232 5222 10 5224 10 5226 10 10 5240 In one embodiment, the Dashboard—School Name GUIincludes one or more regions for exhibiting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at, where the event facility administratormay view and manage (add, change, or delete) a change of status (e.g., delay, closing, or change of format) for their assigned event facility. In one embodiment, the first regionincludes fields and functionality for the event facility administratorto add a new occurrence of a status change to an event, for example, a delay, a closing, an early dismissal, a late dismissal (e.g., due to a hold over or shelter in place order), or a change of format of the event at his/her assigned event facility. In one embodiment, the first regionincludes a date fieldlabeled “DATE” and that has a Calendar control element, an event facility fieldlabeled “SELECT SCHOOLS,” a series of radio control buttons, shown generally at, for characterizing the type of status change, a delay time fieldlabeled “DELAY TIME,” and a no delay time check box controllabeled “NO CHANGE IN START TIME.” With reference to the date field, in one embodiment, the event facility administratormay manually input a date value for the change of status to an event, e.g., in a day, month, and year (DD/MM/YYYY) format or may select the Calendar control elementthat, if activated, exhibits a current year calendar (e.g., beginning with a current day), from which a day of the year may be selected by the administrator. In the event facility field, in one embodiment, the administratormay manually input an event facility name value in which the new change of status is scheduled to occur. As described below, if the new change of status is to occur at two or more event facilities, the administratormay invoke functionally to propagate the change of status to other event facilities by activating a Select More control button, as described more fully below.

5222 5226 10 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5228 5230 10 5230 5230 10 5232 37 FIG. With the date and the event facility for the new change of status to occur selected and input into fieldsand, the event facility administratorfurther defines the character of the type of status change by selecting one of the radio control buttons. In one embodiment, a first oneA of the radio control buttonsis labeled “DELAY,” a second oneB is labeled “CLOSING,” a third oneC is labeled “REMOTE, and a fourth oneD is labeled “DISMISSAL/MESSAGE.” In one embodiment illustrated in, the status change type fieldis a binary choice, e.g., only one of the types radio buttons DELAYA, CLOSINGB, REMOTEC, or DISMISSAL/MESSAGED may be selected, such that when one of the types is selected and enabled, the other three options are deactivated and not selectable so that the new occurrence of the change in status only has one type value. In one embodiment, when the type of status change is one of a delay (e.g., the DELAY radio control buttonA is enabled), a dismissal (e.g., the DISMISSAL/MESSAGE radio control buttonD is enabled), or of a change in format (e.g., the REMOTE radio control buttonC is enabled), the delay time fieldis activated for receiving input data. Once activated, the administratormay utilize the delay time fieldto input a value (e.g., in minutes) for the delay in the scheduled start time for the new occurrence of the change in status for the event. In one embodiment, the delay time fieldmay include a dropdown menu control (not shown) that exhibits predefined values of, for example, “60 mins”, “90 mins”, “120 mins”, or “Other”. It should be appreciated that while these four (4) values are described, the present disclosure is not limited to these values and that other preset values may be implemented using the features and functions of the present disclosure. Alternatively, in one embodiment, the administratormay activate the delay time check box controllabeled “NO DELAY IN START TIME” to indicate that there is no planned delay in the start time, for example, when the status change is a change of format to remote.

5228 124 10 10 124 12 100 10 5250 5210 5200 164 167 165 160 10 5252 5250 5252 5200 37 FIG. In one embodiment, when the DISMISSAL/MESSAGE radio control buttonD is enabled, the APPA invokes features and functions to permit one of the event facility administratorsto broadcast a message to usersassociated with one or more event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, or the like). For example, the APPA invokes an alert or notification message dialog box (not shown) where the administratormay enter a custom or predefined message of a situation at or in proximity to the event facility that may impact the originally scheduled daily events at the event facility (e.g., resulting in an early or late dismissal). To create the new occurrence of the specified change of status for the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like) within the system, the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonin the first regionof the Dashboard—School Name GUIof. Once saved, the specified change of status is stored in the list of event facilitiesincluding its corresponding fields such as the statusof the facility, within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the creation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttonclears all input information within the Dashboard—School Name GUI.

5260 5200 5262 124 10 5262 5220 5228 5228 5228 5228 5226 5262 5262 5264 5264 124 5264 5264 10 5264 124 5200 5400 10 10 5264 124 124 10 5260 5270 10 100 5262 10 5272 124 5272 10 5274 5274 5276 10 10 5272 5274 124 100 124 5262 37 FIG. 40 FIG. 37 FIG. In one embodiment, the second regionof the Dashboard—School Name GUIincludes a Delay & Closings table, shown generally at, that is populated by the School DelayZz APPA to exhibit the status changes for event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, or the like) for which the event facility administratoris responsible. In one embodiment, the Delays & Closing tableexhibits the particular change of status indicated in the first region, for example, the delay (e.g., if the DELAY radio control buttonA is enabled), the closing (e.g., if the CLOSING radio control buttonB is enabled), the change in format (e.g., if the REMOTE radio control buttonC is enabled), or the dismissal/messaging (e.g., if the DISMISSAL/MESSAGE radio control buttonBD is enabled) for the event facility specified in the event facility field(e.g., Bedford Public Schools). In one embodiment, the Delay & Closings tableexhibits a date and a type of change of status. In one embodiment, the Delay & Closing tablealso includes an Actions column, shown generally at. In one embodiment, the Actions columnincludes one or more icons for each listed status change for initiating functionality to be performed by the APPA. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in, the one or more icons include an edit iconA (e.g., a pencil and paper image) and a delete iconB (e.g., a garbage can image). In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the edit iconA for one of the listed status changes, the APPA closes the Dashboard—School Name GUIand invokes an Edit Delays/Closing GUIof, where the administratormay view and edit details of the status change for the event facility, as described below. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the delete iconB for one of the listed status changes, the APPA deletes the listed status change for the specified event facility. In one embodiment, prior to completing the delete operation, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to delete the selected status change entry. Additionally, the second regionincludes search or filter fields, shown generally at, that may be used by one of the event facility administratorsto initiate a search for one of the event facilities within system(e.g., a school, school district, or the like). For example, to initiate the search or to filter or narrow the results with the Delays & Closing table, the administratormanually inputs an event facility name in a first search fieldlabeled “SELECT SCHOOLS”, wherein the APPA initiates a “keyword” search or filter operation for the value entered in the first search field. Additionally or alternatively, the administratormay initiate the search and/or narrow or filter operation by manually inputting or selecting a month in a second search fieldlabeled “MONTH”. As shown in, in one embodiment, the second search fieldincludes a drop-down list elementthat, if activated, exhibits a list of months of the year, one of which that may be selected by the administrator. Once the administratorhas completed his/her desired search criteria (e.g., entered values within one or more of the search fieldsand/or), the APPA performs a search of event facilities within the system. In one embodiment, the APPA performs the requested search and returns results matching the inputted criteria in the Delays & Closings table.

5200 5280 124 5290 5292 5294 5280 5290 5210 5000 5800 124 10 10 5292 124 5200 5800 10 5294 124 5200 100 38 FIG. 44 FIG. In one embodiment, the Dashboard—School Name GUIalso further includes an “School Admin” dropdown menu controlthat, if selected, as shown in, the APPA exhibits a navigation menuincluding options of a PROFILE control elementand a LOGOUT control element. It should be appreciated that, in one embodiment, the “School Admin” dropdown menu controlproviding access to the navigation menu, like the Main Menu navigation bardiscussed above, is exhibited on each of the GUIstoexhibited by the School DelayZz APPA to the one or more School DelayZz event facility administrators. If the administratorselects the PROFILE control elementthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard—School Name GUIand navigates to a Profile—School Admin GUI, illustrated in. If the administratorselects the LOGOUT control elementthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard—School Name GUI, terminates the school administrator's current access to the School DelayZz system, and navigates to the Login GUI, described above.

10 5200 5240 5220 5300 124 5300 5200 5300 5220 5200 5300 5320 5322 100 10 5320 5324 5322 10 5322 5320 5326 10 5322 5320 5324 5322 5324 5324 5322 5322 5300 5328 10 5322 5320 5300 5330 5340 5322 5320 10 5342 5342 124 5320 5342 5320 10 5322 5320 5344 5344 5346 10 5322 5300 10 5350 10 5352 5350 5352 5300 5200 39 FIG. 39 FIG. 39 FIG. 39 FIG. 39 FIG. 37 FIG. As noted above, in one embodiment, the event facility administratormay invoke functionally to propagate the same change of status entered on the Dashboard—School Name GUIfor the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like) to other event facilities by activating the Select More control buttonof the first regionto invoke a Select Schools/School Districts dialog box. In one embodiment, as illustrated on, the School DelayZz APPA exhibits the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxon the Dashboard—School Name GUI. In one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxenables propagation of a same change of status made in the first regionof the Dashboard—School Name GUIto one or more other event facilities. For example, in one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxprovides a table or list, shown generally at, of the names of event facilities(e.g., schools and/or school districts) within the School DelayZz systemfor the administratorto review and select. In one embodiment, the listincludes a check box control elementassociated with each one of the listed event facilities, where the administratormay select one or more individual ones of the event facilitieslisted to receive the same change of status. In one embodiment, the listalso includes a check box control elementwhere the administratormay select all of the event facilitieswithin the listto receive the same change of status. In one embodiment, one or more of the check box control elementscorresponding individually to event facilitiesmay be selected, e.g., filled, to enable, or deselected, e.g., unfilled, to disable the propagation operation. For example, as shown in, check boxesA andB are selected to propagate a change of status to two event facilities, a facilityA labeled “Alachua County Public Schools” and a facilityB labeled “Bessemer City”. As shown in, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxmay include a scroll bar control elementwhich, when activated, allows the administratorto visually exhibits additional values of event facilitiesbeyond what is currently exhibited within the borders of the table or listof facilities. In one embodiment, the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxincludes a regionincluding a search block, shown generally at, to narrow or filter within, or to add additional the event facilitiesto the list. For example, as illustrated in, the administratormay optionally manually input an event facility name in a first search field. When a value is entered into the first search field, the APPA narrows or filters the listor adds the specified event facilitiesto the event facilities exhibited in the listto match the named event facility. The administratormay also optionally narrow or filter within, or to add additional the event facilities, to the listby manually inputting or selecting a State in a second search fieldlabeled “STATE”. As shown in, in one embodiment, the second search fieldincludes a drop-down list elementthat, if activated, exhibits a list of States within the United States, one or all of which that may be selected by the administrator. To implement or propagate the change of status to the additional one or more event facilitiesspecified in the Select Schools/School Districts dialog box, the administratorselects a “DONE” control button. Alternatively, the administratormay end the propagation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Select Schools/School Districts dialog boxand invokes or reactivates the Dashboard—School Name GUI().

37 FIG. 40 FIG. 37 FIG. 40 FIG. 40 FIG. 40 FIG. 40 FIG. 40 FIG. 37 FIG. 5200 5262 5264 5264 5400 10 5264 124 5400 5400 5400 100 5410 5440 5410 5412 5414 5416 5418 5420 5422 5422 5422 10 5420 124 5412 5416 5418 5420 10 5414 5412 5418 10 5442 5440 5400 10 5444 5442 5444 5400 5200 As described above and as shown in, the Dashboard—School Name GUIincludes within the status tableexhibited thereon, the Actions columnthat includes the edit iconA that, when selected, invokes the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof, where the event facility administratormay view and edit details of the change of status for the event facility corresponding to the selected edit icon. For example, when the edit iconA () for the event facility “Bedford Public Schools” is selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof. In one embodiment, when invoked, the Edit Delays/Closings GUIexhibits current values of the status change for the selected event facility, e.g., the Bedford Public Schools, selected as described above. As shown in, the Edit Delays/Closings GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for viewing and editing (e.g., modifying) the status change exhibited including a date fieldlabeled “DATE” and that includes a calendar control element, an event facility fieldlabeled “SELECT SCHOOLS/SCHOOL DISTRICT”, a series of radio control buttons, shown generally at, for characterizing the type of status change, and a delay time fieldlabeled “DELAY TIME” and that includes a drop-down menu control. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu controlexhibits values of, for example, “60 mins”, “90 mins”, and “120 mins.” It should be appreciated that while these three (3) values are described, the present disclosure is not limited to these values and that other preset values may be implemented using the features and functions of the present disclosure. If the drop-down menu controlis not selected, the administratormay enter their own value within the delay time field. As shown in, the APPA prefills these fields,,, andwith the values for the Bedford Public Schools change of status. Once exhibited, the administratormay change values presented within these fields using, for example, functionality including the calendar control elementwithin the date fieldand/or the radio control buttonsto revise the type of status change. For example, as shown in, the previous type of status change for the Bedford Public Schools event facility, e.g., previously operating remotely on a date of “04/27/2022,” is revised to a Delay status, operating with a “90 mins.” delay in the regular starting time. To save any modification made to the change of status for the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonin the second regionof the Edit Delays/Closings GUIof. Alternatively, the administratorends the edit operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Edit Delays/Closings GUIand invokes or reactivates the Dashboard—School Name GUI().

5210 10 5214 124 5500 10 5500 100 5510 5540 5510 5510 5520 124 10 5520 100 5530 5530 5530 10 5530 124 5500 5700 10 5530 5700 10 124 5500 5700 10 5530 124 124 10 5500 5542 5540 124 5500 5600 10 41 FIG. 41 FIG. 41 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 41 FIG. 41 FIG. 42 FIG. Referring again to the Main Menu navigation bar, if the administratorselects the “SCHOOLS” option, the APPA navigates to the Schools GUIofwhere the administratormay view and manage (e.g., change or delete) detailed information for an existing event facility or invoke functionality to add a new event facility. In one embodiment, the Schools GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the system, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for searching or filtering the detailed information for an existing facility or for initiating an operation to add a new event facility or edit an existing event facility. For example, the first regionincludes an event facility table, shown generally at, populated by the APPA that includes the event facilities that the event facility administratoris responsible for maintaining. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the event facility tableincludes columns exhibiting, for example, a unique code for the event facilities listed, the names of event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, and the like), state, a date of enrollment and/or verification of the facility with the School DelayZz system, and an Actions column. In one embodiment, the Actions column, shown generally at, includes one or more icons for each listed facility for initiating functionality to be performed on one of the listed facilities. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in, the one or more icons include an edit iconA (e.g., a pencil and paper image) and a delete iconB (e.g., a garbage can image). In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the edit iconA for one of the listed event facilities (e.g., “Alabaster City” facility), the APPA closes the Schools GUIand invokes an Edit School GUIoffor the selected event facility (e.g., school, school district, user group, or the like), where the administratormay view and edit details of the corresponding event facility (e.g., sinceA is selected, the Edit School GUIofis invoked and populated with the details for the “Alabaster City” facility), as described below. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects (e.g., double clicks with an input device such as a mouse) one of the listed event facilities by name, the APPA closes the Schools GUIand invokes the Edit School GUIoffor the selected event facility. In one embodiment, if the administratorselects the delete iconB for one of the listed event facilities, the APPA deletes the listed event facility. In one embodiment, prior to completing the delete operation, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to delete the selected event facility. In one embodiment, illustrated in, the Schools GUIalso includes an ADD NEW control button(e.g., included in the second region) that, if selected, the APPA closes the Schools GUI() and invokes an Add New GUIof, where the administratormay add a new event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), as described below.

42 FIG. 42 FIG. 5600 100 5610 5650 5610 5610 5612 5614 5616 5618 5620 5622 5616 5614 5622 10 100 5622 5610 5624 5626 5610 5628 5630 5610 5632 5634 5610 5636 5638 124 5620 5624 10 5610 5612 5614 5618 5620 5624 5628 5630 5632 5634 5636 5610 5640 100 5640 5640 10 5642 100 As shown in, the Add New GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto add a new event facility, for example, a first region shown generally atand a second region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for adding a new event facility (e.g., school, school district, user groups, or the like) and information describing the same. For example, the first regionincludes a name fieldlabeled “SCHOOL NAME,” an event facility type fieldlabeled “SCHOOL TYPE” and that includes a drop-down list control element, an event code fieldlabeled “SCHOOL CODE,” and a Country fieldlabeled “COUNTRY” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. In one embodiment, the drop-down list control elementfor the event facility type fieldincludes values of “Private” or “Public,” although the present disclosure is not limited to these values. As noted previously with related fields, with the Country drop-down control elementthe event facility administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the Country drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a state fieldlabeled “STATE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available states within the selected country for selection. The first regionalso includes street address fieldsandlabeled “ADDRESS 1” and “ADDRESS 2”, respectively. The first regionalso includes a city fieldlabeled “LOCATION/CITY” and a zip code fieldlabeled “ZIP CODE”. The first regionfurther includes a time zone fieldlabeled “TIME ZONE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementfor selecting applicable time zones. In one embodiment, the APPA automatically detects and enters the applicable time zone from the values input into the Country fieldand the state field. In one embodiment, the automatically entered time zone may be overwritten (e.g., manually changed) by the administrator. In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,,,,,,,, and) are required entries. In one embodiment, the first regionmay also include a verification document fieldlabeled “VERFIED DOCUMENT.” In one embodiment, entry of a new event facility into the School DelayZz systemrequires evidence of approval by the event facility. If so required, the verification document fieldis provided for submission of such a verification document. In one embodiment, entry of text within the fieldinitiates a browser operation (as is known in the art) to locate a document corresponding to the text entered within a file directory accessible by the administrator. Once located, an upload control elementlabeled “UPLOAD” may be invoked to retrieve the document from the specified location with the file directory for submission to the School DelayZz system.

10 5652 5650 5600 124 10 100 124 164 160 165 169 10 5654 5652 56544 5600 5500 42 FIG. 42 FIG. 41 FIG. To create the newly specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, user group, or the like), the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonin the second regionof the Add New GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to add the new event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA adds a new entry to the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage deviceand populates the related fields, e.g., the event facility name fieldand the event facility administrator's name as an authorized user (e.g., Authorized Notifier) field. Alternatively, the administratorends the creation operation by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Add New GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Schools GUIof.

5500 5500 5520 5530 124 5700 10 5700 5600 5700 10 5530 5500 124 5500 5700 5530 5700 100 5700 5712 5714 5716 5718 5720 5722 5722 10 100 5722 5700 5724 5726 5700 5728 5730 5700 5732 5734 5700 5736 5738 124 5720 5724 10 5700 5712 5714 5720 5724 5728 5730 5732 5734 5736 5718 5700 5740 100 100 5740 5740 10 5742 100 5744 10 5752 5700 124 10 100 124 164 160 165 10 5754 5752 5754 5700 5500 41 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 42 FIG. 43 FIG. 42 FIG. 41 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 43 FIG. 41 FIG. Referring again to the Schools GUIof, as shown, the Schools GUIincludes the list of event facilities exhibited within the event facilities tablewith each listed event facility having an Actions column that includes the edit icon, e.g., the edit iconA. When either the name of the event facility or the edit icon is selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes the Edit School GUIof, where the administratormay view and edit details of the event facility (e.g., school, school district, user group, and the like) corresponding to the selected event facility name or edit icon. In one embodiment, as shown by comparingto, the Edit School GUI() includes substantially the same fields and functionality as that of the Add New GUI(). However, when invoked, the Edit School GUIexhibits current values for the selected event facility. For example, and as shown in, when the administratorselects the edit iconA on the Schools GUI, the School DelayZz APPA closes the Schools GUIand invokes the Edit School GUI() and populates fields thereof with details for the corresponding event facility (e.g., the “Alabaster City” event facility corresponding to edit iconA). In one embodiment, the Edit School GUI() includes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto edit a specified event facility, for example, the “Alabaster City” event facility. In one embodiment, the Edit School GUIincludes a name fieldlabeled “SCHOOL NAME,” an event facility type fieldlabeled “SCHOOL TYPE” and that includes a drop-down list control element, an event code fieldlabeled “SCHOOL CODE,” and a Country fieldlabeled “COUNTRY” and that includes a Country drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available countries for selection. As noted previously with related fields, with the Country drop-down control elementthe event facility administratormay select a country within the list of one or more countries having event facilities participating in the system. In one embodiment, as illustrated in, a default value of the Country drop-down list control elementis the United States of America (e.g., USA). In one embodiment, the Edit School GUIalso includes a state fieldlabeled “STATE” and that includes a State drop-down list control elementwhich exhibits a list of available states within the selected country for selection. The Edit School GUIalso includes street address fieldsandlabeled “ADDRESS 1” and “ADDRESS 2”, respectively. The Edit School GUIalso includes a city fieldlabeled “LOCATION/CITY” and a zip code fieldlabeled “ZIP CODE”. The Edit School GUIfurther includes a time zone fieldlabeled “TIME ZONE” and that includes a drop-down list control elementfor selecting applicable time zones. In one embodiment, the APPA automatically detects and enters the applicable time zone from the values input into the Country fieldand the state field. In one embodiment, the automatically entered time zone may be overwritten (e.g., manually changed) by the event facility administrator. In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields of the Edit School GUI(e.g., fields,,,,,,,, and) are required entries and the event code fieldis an optional entry. In one embodiment, the Edit School GUImay also include a verification document fieldlabeled “VERIFICATION DOCUMENT.” In one embodiment, as noted above when adding a new event facility into the School DelayZz system, the systemrequires evidence of approval by the event facility. If it is required or desired to remove and to add a new verification document, the verification document fieldis provided for submission of such a new verification document. In one embodiment, entry of text within the fieldinitiates a browser operation (as is known in the art) to locate a document corresponding to the text entered within a file directory accessible by the administrator. Once located, an upload control elementlabeled “UPLOAD” may be invoked to retrieve the document from the specified location with the file directory for submission to the School DelayZz system. An iconis exhibited once the uploaded document is loaded to permit review of the verification document, as needed or desired. To save the edits made to the specified event facility (e.g., school, school district, or the like), the event facility administratorselects a “SAVE” control buttonof the Edit School GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to edit the event facility and its related information to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the selected facility in the list of event facilitieswithin the data storage device(e.g., the event facility name field, as appropriate). Alternatively, the administratorends the edit operation by selecting a “CANCEL” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the SAVE control buttonor the CANCEL control buttoncloses the Edit School GUI() and invokes or reactivates the Schools GUIof.

5200 10 5292 5290 124 5200 5800 5800 10 100 5800 100 100 5810 5810 5810 5812 5814 5816 5818 5820 5822 5818 5810 5812 5814 5816 5820 5822 38 FIG. 44 FIG. 44 FIG. Referring again to the Dashboard GUIof, if the event facility administratorselects the PROFILE control elementfrom the navigation menuthen, in response, the APPA closes of the Dashboard GUIand navigates to the Profile—School Admin GUI, illustrated in. In the Profile—School Admin GUIone of the School DelayZz event facility administratorsmay view and modify current values within his/her own personal identifying information within the system. For example, as shown in, the Profile—School Admin GUIincludes one or more regions for inputting information and/or initiating functionality of the systemto view and edit existing values within his/her own profile on the system, for example, within a first region shown generally at. In one embodiment, the first regionprovides fields and functionality for editing the event facility administrator's own identifying information. For example, the first regionincludes a first name fieldlabeled “FIRST NAME,” a last name fieldlabeled “LAST NAME,” a position fieldlabeled “POSITION/TITLE” and that includes a drop-down menu control element, a phone number fieldlabeled “PHONE NUMBER,” and an electronic mail fieldlabeled “EMAIL”. In one embodiment, the drop-down menu control elementincludes values of, for example, “School Administrator,” “PTO/School Club,” or “Other.” In one embodiment, each of the aforementioned fields in the first region(e.g., fields,,,, and) are required entries.

5800 10 5810 5830 10 5830 124 5840 5800 10 5842 5844 10 1200 10 5846 5840 5846 124 162 160 10 5848 5840 5846 5848 5840 5800 10 5850 5800 124 10 100 124 10 162 160 10 5852 5850 5852 5800 5200 45 FIG. 5 FIG. 44 FIG. 45 FIG. 44 FIG. 44 FIG. 44 FIG. 37 FIG. With the current values of these fields exhibited on the Profile—School Admin GUI, the event facility administratormay selectively review and edit these fields. In one embodiment, the first regionalso includes a change password textual navigation control elementfor the administratorto change his/her password. When the change password textual navigation control elementis selected, the School DelayZz APPA invokes a Change Password Dialog Boxon the Profile—School Admin GUI, as illustrated in, in which the administratorenters his/her current password in a current password fieldlabeled “Current Password” and a new password in a new password fieldlabeled “New Password.” Once the administratorenters a new password in an approved format (e.g., see password requirements included in the Sign Up GUIof), the administratorselects a “Done” control buttonof the Change Password Dialog Boxof. Once the Done Control buttonis selected, the School DelayZz APPA saves the new password within the event facility administrator's profile in the list of School DelayZz event facility administrators (e.g., the authorized user list) within the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the change password operation by selecting a “Cancel” control buttonon the Change Password Dialog Box. In one embodiment, selecting the Done control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Change Password Dialog Box() and invokes or reactivates the Profile—School Admin GUIof. To save the newly edited information within the administrator's own profile, the administratorselects a “Save” control buttonof the Profile—School Admin GUIof. Once selected, in one embodiment, the APPA exhibits a confirmation pop up box (not shown) and requests that the administratorconfirms his/her instruction to revise and save the changes to his/her own profile to the system. When confirmed, the School DelayZz APPA revises the entry for the administratorwithin the list of authorized userswithin the data storage device. Alternatively, the administratorends the editing operation for his/her own profile by selecting a “Cancel” control button. In one embodiment, selecting the Save control buttonor the Cancel control buttoncloses the Profile—School Admin GUI() and invokes or reactivates the GUI that initiated the action or, alternatively, invokes or reactivates the Dashboard—School Name GUIof.

100 Having described how users and administrators define their profiles and profiles for the one or more event facilities (e.g., schools, school districts, user groups, and the like) in which they are associated, the following overview describes how event status messages, including a change in status of an event (e.g., delay, closing, or change of format, early dismissal, late dismissal, and the like) at an event facility, are received and how the systemgenerates notification messages in response thereto to allow enable one or more attendees and/or others planning to attend or participate in the event, or pick up a participant after an end of the event to, automatically and selectively, adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification messages.

1 46 FIGS.and 46 FIG. 1 FIG. 150 154 200 200 12 192 200 124 10 165 600 200 610 150 200 620 150 165 200 200 150 200 164 165 160 165 200 630 170 200 150 165 169 200 100 200 200 200 192 150 200 200 630 150 160 200 169 In one embodiment, illustrated in, the serverexecutes APPA to process the event status messagesreceived from one of the notifiers, for example, a messageA sent by the unaffiliated, third-party notifyusing one of the processing devicesor a messageB generated by the APPA as one of the event facility administratorenters a status change of an event held at the event facilityhe/she is responsible for administrating. As shown in, a methodfor processing the event status messagesincludes, at Step, receiving by the serverone of the event status messagesfrom one of the notifiers. In response, at Step, the serverdetermines one or more of the event facilitiesimpacted by the received status message. For example, in one embodiment, a messagemay detail a change of status (e.g., closure, delay, change of format, or early or late dismissal) for an individual event facility (e.g., a school or other educational facility) or for a collection of facilities (e.g., a school district that includes two or more educational facilities or schools within the same school district). In one embodiment, the serverextracts the event facility information from the received event status messageand accesses the listof event facilitiesstored in the data storage deviceto determine the one or more of the event facilitiesimpacted by the received event status message. At Step, before taking further action to generate and disseminate notification messagesin response to the received event status message, the serverdetermines whether the notifier is authorized to change the current status of operations at the one or more subject event facilities. As described herein, during a registration process for an event facility (e.g., a school, user group, or the like) or group of related event facilities (e.g., a school district, user groups, or the like), one or more authorized users (e.g., the Authorized Notifiers) are identified as being approved sources for providing event status messagesto the system. In one embodiment, the authorized or approved sources may include one or more notifiers approved to provide status messages(e.g., messagesA andB as shown in), which in one embodiment, include approved sources providing electronic messaging (e.g., email messages, API calls, and the like) or data feeds (e.g., XML feed, CSV feed, or like data feed) from one of the processing devicesto the serveras the event status messages(e.g., messagesB). At Step, the serverinitiates a lookup process or query of, for example, the data storage device, and registration information stored therein to confirm that the received event status messagesare from an authorized or approved source, e.g., one of the Authorized Notifiers.

600 154 630 640 154 200 165 154 200 169 165 154 640 650 650 154 10 165 160 162 160 162 161 163 161 600 154 650 660 660 154 800 170 161 163 165 200 100 161 170 161 163 165 200 154 660 700 600 4 4 FIGS.A toC 47 FIG. Execution of the methodby the APPA proceeds from Stepto Step, where the APPA determines from the lookup process whether the source of the received messageis an authorized notifier for the impacted event facilities. If the APPA determines that the received notification messageis from a current one of the Authorized Notifiersfor the impacted one or more event facilities, then execution by the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA evaluates the list of usersassociated with the impacted one or more event facilities. For example, as noted above, the data storage devicemaintains the list of authorized userswithin the data storage device. As noted above, the list of authorized usersincludes the usersand one or more event facilitiesassociated with the useras defined in the user's registration process (e.g., seeand the related description provided herein). Execution of the methodby the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Step. At Step, the APPA initiates a process (e.g., a methodof) to request that the notification message(s)be sent to the one or more usersassociated with the event facility(ies),that are subject to the received event status messageso that the systemmay trigger the automatic response (if enabled by the users) to the notification message(s)and the change of status therein. In one embodiment, the initiation step includes providing the list of usersassociated with the one or more event facilities,impacted by the received and authorized and/or verified event status messagesas well as the type of the change of status (e.g., delay, cancellation, change in format, earlier or late dismissal, and the like). Once the send process is initiated, the APPA proceeds from Stepto Step, where the methodends.

640 200 169 165 154 640 670 670 154 200 169 165 680 154 200 169 200 169 169 165 154 680 700 600 680 154 200 169 154 680 650 650 660 170 161 163 165 200 Referring again to Step, if the received notification messageis not from a current one of the Authorized Notifiersfor the impacted one or more event facilities, then execution by the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. In one embodiment, at Step, the APPA attempts to verify that the received notification messageis valid by, for example, generating and sending a request message to one or more of the Authorized Notifiersfor the impacted one or more event facilities. At Step, the APPA determines whether the notification messageand the change of status included therein has been verified by one or more of the Authorized Notifiers. If the received notification messageis not from a current one of the Authorized Notifiersand/or has not been verified by one of the Authorized Notifiersfor the impacted one or more event facilities, then execution by the APPA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path, where the methodends. If at Step, the APPA determines that the notification messageand the change of status included therein has been verified by one or more of the Authorized Notifiers, then execution by the APPA proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path where, as described above, Stepsandare executed to initiate the process to send the notification message(s)to the one or more usersassociated with the event facility(ies),subject to the received event status message.

47 47 47 47 FIGS.A,B,C, andD 47 FIG.A 11 FIG. 11 FIG. 11 FIG. 800 200 112 124 154 160 810 154 170 161 163 165 200 161 163 165 200 820 161 150 170 120 161 170 110 161 170 157 800 150 830 112 124 170 150 154 112 124 161 170 840 112 124 840 850 850 112 124 161 10 120 1800 112 124 1834 112 124 200 170 1814 1834 850 860 860 112 124 163 200 170 163 112 124 112 124 1814 112 110 860 870 As shown in, a methodfor processing a response to the received event status messages(executed by one or more of the APPSA,A,A, and/orA) includes, at Step(), receiving by the APPA the request that one or more notification messagesbe sent to the usersassociated with one or more event facilities,impacted by the received event status message. As noted above, in one embodiment, the request includes the usersassociated with the event facility(ies),that are subject to the change of status included in the received event status message. At Step, for each of the users, the servergenerates and sends one of the notification messagesto one or both of the client/user deviceoperated by the user(e.g., messageA) and/or the IoT Deviceused by the user(e.g., messageB), for example, via the push notification gateway. Execution of the methodthen concludes for the server. At Step, the APPA and/orA extract the change of status (e.g., delay, cancellation, change in format, earlier or late dismissal, and the like) from the request, e.g., provided within the notification message(s)from the serverand APPA, and the APPA and/orA compares the extracted change of status to the alarm setting for each of the usersto trigger the appropriate response to the notification message(s). At Step, the APPA and/orA determines whether the change of status is a “Delay” or other status change. If the change of status is a delay, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines the automated response, if any, assigned by the user(e.g., operatorof the user device) for a change of status type of delay, for example, as set in the Configure Alarms GUIof. For example, the APPA and/orA determines whether the user enabled the toggle control elementinstructing the APPA and/orA to add a delay time set by the event facility (e.g., as included in the event status messageand the notification message) to their original alarm setting (e.g., value of field() indicative of the alarm for a regular wake up time). If the toggle control elementis enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA modifies the user's original alarm setting to add the delay period defined by the event facility. For example, if the event status messageand the notification messageindicate that the event facilityis operating with a one hundred twenty (120) minute delay to its regular start time, the APPA and/orA adds the one hundred twenty-minute delay period to the user's original alarm setting. Referring to, the APPA and/orA adds one hundred twenty (120) minutes to the value of original alarm setting (e.g., the “6:30 am” value of field) such that a new alarm setting is established at a value of eight-thirty am (e.g., “8:30 am”). Once the new alarm setting is established, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Step, where execution ends.

850 1834 850 880 880 112 124 161 10 120 1800 1834 880 112 124 10 1838 1814 10 200 170 163 112 124 112 124 1814 112 110 880 870 11 FIG. 11 FIG. 11 FIG. Referring again to Step, if the toggle control elementis not enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines the automated response, if any, assigned by the user(e.g., operatorof the user device) for the change of status type of delay (e.g., as set in the Configure Alarms GUIof) when the toggle control elementis disabled. At Step, the APPA and/orA modifies the user's original alarm setting to add the customized delay period defined by the userwhen activating the slider control element() to add a variable delay time from between, for example, a numeric value of five (5) minutes to one hundred twenty (120) minutes, to their original alarm setting (e.g., the value within the field). For example, if the userspecified that a ninety-minute (90 min) delay should be added to his/her original alarm setting in response to the event status messageand the notification messageindicate that the event facilityis operating with a delay to its regular start time, the APPA and/orA adds the ninety-minute (90 min) delay period to the user's original alarm setting. Referring again to, the APPA and/orA adds ninety (90) minutes to the value of original alarm setting (e.g., the “6:30 am” value of field) such that a new alarm setting is established at a value of eight am (e.g., “8:00 am”). Once the new alarm setting is established, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Step, where execution ends.

840 112 124 840 890 890 112 124 890 900 900 112 124 161 10 120 1800 112 124 1834 112 124 161 1834 900 910 910 112 124 161 200 170 112 110 910 870 47 FIG.A 47 FIG.A 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.B 12 FIG. 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.A Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the change of status is not a “Delay” status change, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path and by following a connector labeled “A” fromto. At Step(), the APPA and/orA determines whether the change of status is a “Closing” status change. If the change of status is a closing, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines the automated response, if any, assigned by the user(e.g., operatorof the user device) for a change of status type of closing, for example, as set in the Configure Alarms GUIA of. For example, the APPA and/orA determines whether the user enabled the toggle control elementA instructing the APPA and/orA to turn off the alarm previously set by the user. If the toggle control elementA is enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA turns off or cancels the user's original alarm setting such that no alarm is set to wake up the userupon receipt of the closing event status messageand the notification message. Once the scheduled alarm setting is cancelled, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following a connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends.

900 1834 900 920 920 112 124 161 200 170 163 920 112 124 1838 161 1838 112 124 920 930 930 112 124 161 161 1800 1836 112 110 930 870 920 1838 920 940 940 112 124 161 200 170 163 124 161 112 124 940 870 12 FIG. 12 FIG. 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.A 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.A Referring again to Step, if the toggle control elementA is not enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines whether to set a new or alternative wake up time for the useror to take no action in response to the event status messageand the notification messageindicating that the event facilityis closed. For example, at Step, the APPA and/orA determine whether the toggle control elementA () is enabled indicating that the userdoes wish to set a new or alternative wake up time in response to the notification of a closing. If the toggle control elementA is enable, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Stepthe APPA and/orA establishes a new alarm setting (e.g., wake up time) for the userequal to the value set by the userin, for example, the Configure Alarms GUIA of(e.g., value entered in fieldA and shown as “8:30 am”). Once the new or alternative alarm setting is established, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends. Referring again to Step, if the toggle control elementA is not enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines the userhas not defined any automated action in response to the receipt of the event status messageand the notification messageindicating that the event facilityis closed. In one embodiment, the APPA may generate a message (not shown) to the userindicating that no action was taken in response to the closing message. Execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends.

890 112 124 890 950 950 112 124 950 960 960 112 124 163 163 960 112 124 161 10 120 1800 170 112 124 960 970 970 112 124 1834 112 124 200 170 1814 1834 970 980 980 112 124 163 200 170 163 112 124 112 124 1814 112 110 980 870 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.C 13 FIG. 13 FIG. 13 FIG. 47 FIG.B 47 FIG.A Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the change of status is not a “Closing” status change, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path by following the connector labeled “B” fromto. At Step(), the APPA and/orA determines whether the change of status is a “Remote” status change. If the change of status is a remote status, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines whether the remote status change also includes a delay in the original start time for the event facility. For example, whether the event facilityhas given a period of time for its staff, attendees, and others to prepare for the change in format from an in-person event (attendance at the event facility) to a remote format where attendance at the event is virtual. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines the automated response, if any, assigned by the user(e.g., operatorof the user device) for a change of status type of remote with or without a delay, for example, as set in the Configure Alarms GUIB of. If the notification messageindicates that the remote status change also includes a delay, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines whether the user enabled the toggle control elementB instructing the APPA and/orA to add a delay time set by the event facility (e.g., as included in the event status messageand the notification message) to their original alarm setting (e.g., value of field() indicative of the alarm for a regular wake up time). If the toggle control elementB is enabled, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “Yes” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA modifies the user's original alarm setting to add the delay period defined by the event facility. For example, if the event status messageand the notification messageindicate that the event facilityis operating with a thirty (30) minute delay to its regular start time, the APPA and/orA adds the thirty-minute delay period to the user's original alarm setting. Referring to, the APPA and/orA adds thirty (30) minutes to the value of original alarm setting at(e.g., “6:30 am”) such that a new alarm setting is established at a value of seven am (e.g., “7:00 am”). Once the new alarm setting is established, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends.

970 112 124 1834 112 124 970 985 985 112 124 161 200 170 163 985 112 124 1838 161 1838 112 124 161 161 1800 1836 112 110 985 870 47 FIG.C 13 FIG. 13 FIG. 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.A Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the user did not enabled the toggle control elementB instructing the APPA and/orA to add a delay time set by the event facility to their original alarm setting, execution proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path. At Step, the APPA and/orA establish a new or alternative wake up time for the userin response to the event status messageand the notification messageindicating that the event facilityis changed to a remote format. For example, at Step, the APPA and/orA determine whether the slider control elementB () is enabled indicating that the userdoes wish to set a new or alternative wake up time in response to the notification of a change of format to remote. If the slider control elementB is enable, execution by the APPA and/orA establishes a new alarm setting (e.g., wake up time) for the userequal to the value set by the userin, for example, the Configure Alarms GUIB of(e.g., value entered atB and shown as “90 minutes”) such that the new or alternative alarm is set at a value of “8:00 am.” Once the new or alternative alarm setting is established, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends.

960 112 124 163 975 975 112 124 1850 1800 1850 161 163 1814 112 124 975 870 975 112 124 1850 975 990 990 112 124 161 990 870 950 112 124 950 990 990 112 124 161 112 124 990 870 47 FIG.C 13 FIG. 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.A 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.D 47 FIG.D 47 FIG.A 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.C 47 FIG.D 47 FIG.D 47 FIG.A Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the remote status change does not include a delay in the original start time for the event facility, execution continues and proceeds along a “No” path to Step. At Step, the APPA and/orA determines whether the check box control elementB of the Configure Alarms GUIB () is enabled. If the check box control elementB is enabled the userhas indicated that no delay time period should be applied to the original alarm setting if the event facilityhas not delayed the original start time at the event facility due to the change of format to remote. Accordingly, the original alarm setting (e.g., a value in fieldof “6:30 am”) is maintained and execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends. Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the check box control elementB is not enabled, execution continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path by following the connector labeled “D” fromto. At Step, the APPA and/orA exhibits a “No Alarm Response Configured” message (not shown) to the user. Execution then continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends. Referring again to Step(), if the APPA and/orA determines that the change of status is not a “Remote” status change, execution continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepalong a “No” path by following the connector labeled “D” fromto. As noted above, at Stepthe APPA and/orA exhibits a “No Alarm Response Configured” message (not shown) to the user. Once exhibited, execution by the APPA and/orA continues and proceeds from Stepto Stepby following the connector labeled “C” fromto, where execution ends.

100 As should be appreciated from the description of exemplary embodiments provided herein, the School DelayZz™ event notification and messaging systemincludes novel and non-obvious systems and methods that receive and process automated responses to event status messages, each including a change in status of an event such as, for example, a school day, a meeting, a conference, an audition, a rehearsal, a show or performance, a schedule for travel, or the like (collectively, the event). In one embodiment, the event status messages include a change such as, for example, a delay, closure, or cancellation of the event, early or late dismissal from the event, or an alternative format for conducting the event. When received, the systems and methods as described herein, generate notification messages that enable attendees and/or others planning to attend or participate in the event, or pick up a participant after an end of the event to, automatically and selectively, adjust, revise, and/or adapt their schedules upon receipt of the notification messages. In one embodiment, where the event is planned to begin at an early time of the day, the automatic response may include, for example, adjusting, resetting, or cancelling an alarm set to wake the participant of the event or others, for example, providing transportation to the event.

It should be appreciated that the phraseology and the terminology used in the description of the various embodiments described herein should be given their broadest interpretation and meaning as the purpose is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “including,” “comprises,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and equivalents thereof, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, groups and/or equivalents thereof.

While the invention has been described with reference to various exemplary embodiments, including, for example, an implementation as a school delay, closure, or change in format to remote learning notification system, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claim.